Outspoken abortion clinic opens first Chicago-area location
On a recent day, Carafem employees bustled around their new office, unpacking boxes in anticipation of welcoming patients Tuesday. The clinic is designed to make patients comfortable, with exam rooms painted pink and purple and medical equipment kept out of sight in large cabinets. In addition to abortions, the clinic offers women's health services such as placement of IUDs and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
Carafem also has clinics in
The
In 2016,
Carafem, represented by the
In the
It's an approach that's in line with efforts in recent years by pro-abortion rights advocates to destigmatize the procedure. Nearly 24 percent of women in the
Several years ago, amid congressional attempts to defund
Abortion providers elsewhere also have taken steps to make themselves more visible, said
The increased visibility comes amid recent events that have rattled abortion rights advocates. President
The
"I do think when our human rights are being basically dismantled that people are stepping up and taking more bold and public action," Madsen said. "They're really stepping up to say we are here, we are visible, and we want you to know where you can get care that you can trust."
"I think as attacks on abortion rights and care continue, many people are coming forward to share their personal stories to help normalize it," Greear said.
Carafem also is trying to normalize the procedure by making visits to its clinics as relaxing as possible, such as by sending patients home with pink bags containing mints and tea and spacing out appointments so patients don't have to linger in waiting rooms amid strangers.
Carafem offers two types of abortions: one that is achieved by taking a series of pills, first in the office and then at home, and, another, aspiration, that uses a suction device and is performed in the clinic. Carafem charges
"While abortion is a common medical procedure, there's stigma attached to it," Boyd said. "We try to create an atmosphere that's warm, welcoming and normalizing."
Some say efforts such as Carafem's to normalize abortion are just further proof that the procedure is anything but normal and no amount of advertising will change that.
"There's nothing you can do to remove that stigma because the stigma comes from what is the destruction of human life," said
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