ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Rockford Family Planning Center has officially opened for business, becoming the first abortion clinic in the city since 2012.
It will give women in the stateline another option for medical care, but not everyone agrees with its message. Protestors were outside of the building on Monday.
Administrators are glad to give women in the area a place to make a decision on their family planning needs. They stressed the importance of creating a safe and private place.
“I want this to work,” said Meg Larkin, administrator at the Rockford Family Planning Center. “I want it to be a place where women can get what they need.”
The abortion clinic is the first in the city in over a decade. Dr. Dennis Christensen, who ran a clinic years ago on Broadway, is behind this one as well. The only employees are a nurse and Larkin.
“The fact that we know have a center now again, where people can come in, in a safe and private environment, is a gift,” Larkin said.
The clinic is solely for medical abortions that use a pill, not surgery. The option is only open to pregnancies 11 weeks or less.
A group of people, many of whom claimed to be pro-life, held signs outside of the clinic Monday morning. They plan to be there every day.
“Well for one, reparation for all those lives that are being lost,” said protestor Miguel Herrera. “God gives life, and we are not in a position to be taking life.”
Larkin stressed that they have security for the women who come through, wanting to make sure that it is as comfortable for them as possible.
“We put up a screen outside on the porch so that people, when they are coming in, can’t be seen clearly by the people, the protestors that are standing on the street,” she said.
While abortion is an option at the clinic, Larkin’s main objective is to give theme women guidance.
“Make sure actually this is what they want. This isn’t about how many we get in in a day, this is about how we can help women,” Larkin said. “They may decide to do adoption, they may decide to keep the pregnancy, they may decide to have the abortion, and whatever the decide is what we want for them.”
The clinic officially opened on Friday, and they said that they have been receiving numerous calls since opening, expecting people from Wisconsin and Iowa, which have legal restrictions.
