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Cook County public speakers urge funding for reproductive-health services in FY2025 budget amendment
Summary
Five public speakers told the Cook County Board on Nov. 21 that a proposed FY2025 budget amendment is needed to fill funding gaps for abortion and related services, citing increased patient volume, travel and logistical barriers, and the CARLA referral program’s role in hospital-based care.
A special meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 21, 2024, included public testimony urging the board to adopt a proposed amendment to the fiscal year 2025 budget to support reproductive-health services.
Multiple clinicians and advocates told commissioners that demand for abortion care has grown since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, leaving clinics and associated support programs with funding shortfalls. Lisonbee Cowett, medical director at Family Planning Associates, said the clinic has seen a roughly 50% increase in patient volume since Dobbs and now serves more than 1,300 patients per month. “This funding will not only support the cost of patient care, but also allow patients to reach our doors in the first place,” Cowett said, urging a yes vote on the amendment.
Dr. Jonah Fleisher, a complex family-planning specialist and co-director of the CARLA (Complex Abortion Regional Line for Access) referral program, described hospital-based cases that require urgent care and said that abortion funds are critical to help patients cover medical and related costs. Fleisher said CARLA provides patient navigation for people requiring hospital-based abortion in Illinois and credited county and state public investment with allowing the program to respond to increased need.
Conceo Sharif, deputy director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, said the statewide fund provides appointment funding, travel assistance and emotional support, and that investments in travel and funding make care accessible for CPS students, recent migrants and others facing barriers. “Every investment in the abortion access ecosystem right now is life changing and life saving,” Sharif said.
Dr. Laura Larson, a family-planning specialist and CARLA co-director, told the board that hospital-based abortion is substantially more expensive than care provided in freestanding clinics and that CARLA has helped roughly 100 patients access complex hospital-based care since the program began. She said the amendment under consideration would help the county preserve and expand supports for patients who need tertiary care.
The clerk’s reading of the meeting call identified agenda item 24-5641 as the executive budget recommendation and the Cook County budget resolution and annual appropriation bill for fiscal year 2025, as amended. No formal vote on the amendment was recorded during the special meeting; the meeting was recessed until the conclusion of the Finance Committee meeting.
Public testimony at the special meeting followed rules announced by staff: up to three minutes per speaker, with a 90-second warning and time expiration notice, and translation services available.
Next steps: the board recessed the special meeting to reconvene after the Finance Committee, where further committee action on the budget amendment and related items was to occur.
