The Decatur Planned Parenthood shut down last year, leaving the town’s citizens and Millikin students with limited reproductive healthcare options.
There are OB/GYNs you can schedule a visit with if needed, but who knows how long that will take?
Now that the reproductive healthcare services in Decatur have significantly lessened, what can Decatur residents do?
C, a student at Millikin University who chose to remain anonymous, detailed her experience with reproductive healthcare in Decatur.
In the fall semester of 2025, C found out she was pregnant and made the decision to get an abortion. The local Planned Parenthood had just shut down, so she had to find somewhere else to go to get the services she needed.
First, C researched places in Decatur that could assist her. She reached out to New Life Pregnancy Center, an organization in Decatur, but quickly realized they couldn’t help her.
“I called [New Life Pregnancy Center], and they just basically [tried] to tell me not to [get an abortion],” C said.
They inferred that her boyfriend was “trying to make her,” but that is far from the truth.
“They were saying that he was trying to make me,” she said. “And I was like, ‘No, he didn’t. He didn’t make me. He didn’t make me do that.’”
C ultimately decided that she would have to venture out of Macon County to find an organization that could adequately help her.
“It was hard because I had to… first of all, figure out a way to get there,” C. said. “Second of all, [I found] out that Planned Parenthood in Decatur was closed, and then [I had] to drive at least 50 minutes over to the next one, and [had] to miss classes on top of that.”
Travelling for reproductive healthcare can be challenging. You have to find a ride to the facility, have a driver in some cases, take a huge chunk of time out of your day to simply get there, and then even longer to conduct the appointment and eventually return to Decatur.
Not only is the journey to the facility hard, but since there are very few reproductive healthcare facilities in rural Illinois, the two big cities near Decatur with the resources are hotspots and often very busy.
This is not an ideal situation for a college student with a busy schedule.
“It was hard to find a place to get in time, especially [because of my major], so my schedule is very busy, so just finding that time to even get an appointment was really difficult,” C said.
C travelled to Champaign, Illinois, and went to the Equity Clinic to receive the services she needed. This meant that she had to drive about 50 minutes to get the abortion pill.
Some clinics require someone to come with you if you are getting an abortion, even if it is a medical abortion and not a procedural one. C had a close friend travel with her to the Equity Clinic, and even with a friend, the ride back was challenging.
“I had my friend go with me, but the car ride back really allows you to sit with it,” she said. “And I think that was the hardest part for… me.”
Although C was able to get to a reproductive healthcare clinic, it was still a difficult experience.
“[At the] Equity Clinic, they have a security guard [who] walked me… to my car and from my car, because people are just very scary about [protesting],” she said. “I… literally felt like a celebrity, like I was surrounded.”
Protesting and concern for patient safety are issues seen at any Planned Parenthood or place that performs abortions, but it is, nevertheless, a terrifying situation to find yourself in.
The initial trip wasn’t the only time C would have to travel to Champaign.
The Equity Clinic required her to come back for routine checkups. There was no option for her to go to a health care facility in Decatur for these checkups.
“Their only appointments [accessible to me] are in the morning,” she said. “So if there was [a reproductive health clinic in Decatur], it’d be maybe 10 minutes away, and I could find an easier time slot. But it was hard, having to take four or three hours out of my day.”
Even with the checkups, C had some complications after the initial appointment, but since Champaign is so far away, she couldn’t physically get there to get checked out. She had to suffice with a call.
“I wish I could have gone to the clinic, but I couldn’t sit in my car and drive 50 minutes to go to a clinic in the middle of the day,” she said.
C’s experience, although good, was difficult and mentally taxing.
There is no telling whether, if there were a reproductive health care clinic like the Equity Clinic in Decatur, the experience would have been any easier, but it may have been less stressful.
“I mean, reproductive health… is not just abortions, and I think it’s so beneficial for a female just to have someone to talk to about that,” C said.
Even though there is no reproductive health clinic in Decatur, Millikin students can use the Millikin Health Clinic as a resource.
This clinic was shut down for a brief period of time after Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) pulled out of the organization, leaving the center without the resources to give care to Millikin students.
“As part of [HSHS’s] ongoing commitment to its healthcare mission, we continuously evaluate how we deliver care to our community,” Vice President of Operations HSHS Physician Enterprise Mandi Vehlow said in an interview with WAND. “In support of these ongoing assessments, HSHS Medical Group has determined it is necessary to end its agreement with Millikin University to provide medical management services for the walk-in clinic located on Millikin University’s campus, effective December 27, 2024.”
With the health clinic closed, Assistant Professor of Nursing and current Millikin Health Clinic Director Kelly Slade offered her skills to relaunch the organization.
Slade has been a nurse practitioner since 2014 and got her full practice authority from Illinois in 2021, allowing her to evaluate patients, diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe medications, and more.
“I presented to the President’s Council and said, ‘I can do it,’” Slade said. “They said, ‘Okay,’ [and] we started [the health clinic up again] last January.”
The Millikin Health Clinic might not be well-known by students, but the organization is a good alternative for some reproductive health services.
“We offer pregnancy tests here, as well as urinalysis,” Slade said. “We have condoms available that are in the bathrooms, [and] I hand them out to whoever will take them. We do STI testing. We are only able to test for gonorrhea and chlamydia.”
Even though their testing is limited, they have plenty of resources to direct students to. One of these resources is Macon County Public Health.
The Macon County Public Clinic has weekly STI testing every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. They can test you for gonorrhea, chlamydia, HIV, hepatitis C, syphilis, and trichomoniasis (in women).
Although Macon County Public Clinic’s services are not free, they do accept various health insurance plans. The website states that STI testing is currently $25.
The Millikin Health Clinic is not free either. It costs $25 for a visit, and this money is charged to your Millikin student account.
“It’s very cheap,” Slade said. “I can test you for strep, influenza, pregnancy, UTI, blood glucose, [and] mono… I could do it all for you for $25 in one visit.”
The Millikin Health Clinic costs money, but it’s still an alternative to larger health care institutions that may charge you more for a simple flu test.
The Millikin Health Clinic does not specialize in reproductive healthcare, but they do provide students with limited STI tests, pregnancy tests, urinalysis, and information and resources.
The clinic does not have abortion services either, but they can give you all of the information and resources you may need, whether you want to terminate the pregnancy or not.
“I’ve worked in this community for almost 20 years, so I have lots of resources to send people to,” Slade said.
The Millikin Health Clinic has some tricks up its sleeve, though.
They might offer certain services you need but didn’t know they offered. If you don’t know what the health clinic can do for you, the best plan of action is to ask.
“We don’t stock Depo-Provera here, but if somebody brings in their sealed box from the pharmacy, I’m happy to give them the injection,” Slade said.
This information is not listed anywhere on the website, yet they can still offer this to students.
“If [students] just want to come in and ask questions, that’s okay,” Slade said. “We’re not going to charge them to ask me a question.”
The Millikin Health Clinic is an alternative resource for Millikin students, but not for the general public. The clinic only offers services to students and Millikin employees.
The Planned Parenthood in Decatur, Bloomington, Ottawa, and Englewood shut down last year due to an increase in patients, low reimbursement rates from insurance providers, and rising healthcare costs.
If someone in Decatur needs birth control, an abortion, STI testing and treatment, HIV testing and treatment, pregnancy testing and planning, or any other reproductive healthcare services, they have to find an alternative.
Planned Parenthood is one of the biggest names in the reproductive healthcare industry. It’s a reliable organization that isn’t secretive about the services it provides. When the Decatur branch shut down, Millikin students and Decatur residents alike were left confused.
There are hospitals and OB/GYNs in Decatur, but there is no longer a facility that specifically provides reproductive healthcare services.
When you search “reproductive health services in Decatur” on Google, one of the first results is a facility called the New Life Pregnancy Center. New Life provides education, many free services, and support to pregnant women in need.
There is a large misunderstanding of what their facility provides. Not only can they provide pregnancy tests and education to already expecting mothers, but they can also conduct STI testing, ultrasounds, refer their patrons to other facilities, and help patrons sign up for WIC and SNAP benefits.
Although New Life Pregnancy Center provides many services, its main goal is to support parents. They have classes that parents, or parents-to-be, can take so they can learn how to support their child adequately.
Attached to the facility is a thrift shop with children’s and adult clothing, hygiene products, and anything else a new parent might need. If parents attend New Life’s classes, they can get points to spend at the thrift shop, so they don’t have to spend money.
New Life wants to help parents learn while also teaching them the responsibility of being a parent, and is a great resource for those who want to become parents or need help through their unexpected or expected pregnancy.
However, if you are pregnant and determine that you would like to get an abortion, New Life is not the place for you.
New Life doesn’t provide any resources for where to go if someone chooses to get an abortion; they only provide education on alternative options. They are a resource for those who are confident in their choice to become a parent, but they don’t cover all of the important reproductive healthcare services that Planned Parenthood does.
Many states have moved to an anti-abortion stance.
Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia all have a total abortion ban, and Florida, Georgia, Iowa, and South Carolina have banned abortions after the 6th week of pregnancy.
Since women cannot get an abortion in their own state, they travel to other states to get the care they need. WAND reported that since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Planned Parenthood clinics in Illinois have “seen a 47% increase in overall abortion care patients and patients traveling from more than 40 other states, making up nearly a quarter (25%) of overall abortion patients.”
With the closure of Planned Parenthood in the Decatur, Bloomington, Ottawa, and Englewood locations, that leaves Illinois with 13 other locations residents can travel to.
With the rampant need for Planned Parenthood services, these 13 locations will be seeing a surge in patients.
“We made plans for the patient surge; however, rising care costs and lower reimbursement rates from insurers [are] jeopardizing [Planned Parenthood Illinois (PPIL)] sustainability,” the Interim President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Tonya Tucker, said in an interview with WAND. “Unfortunately, this is the reality many other Planned Parenthood affiliates are facing in the rapidly evolving health care environment. We are making the difficult decisions today so we can continue providing care tomorrow and well into the future.”
Although these shutdowns are supposed to aid the broader Illinois community in the future, it still leaves Decatur residents and Millikin students with no direct plan of action now if they need Planned Parenthood services.
There is a Planned Parenthood app, PPDirect, but that is not an option that is widely known.
The PPDirect app provides access to birth control, UTI treatment, a way to receive the morning-after pill and abortion pill, and STI testing.
However, all of these services have a fee attached to them. To get the abortion pill, an at-home STI test, the morning-after pill, and UTI treatments, they must be shipped to your address, which raises concerns about whether they will be received in a timely manner or at all.
Planned Parenthood is doing its best to remain accessible to people who cannot travel to one, but nothing is as reliable as physically going to a Planned Parenthood.
If you are a Millikin student, utilize the Millikin Health Clinic, and if you are a Decatur resident, speak with your healthcare provider to see what the local healthcare facilities can do for you, or try to budget time to travel to a nearby Planned Parenthood.
It might be hard to access the resources you need, but it is important that you reach out for help if you need it.
Other Reproductive Healthcare Information:
Millikin Health Clinic
Hours:
- Monday | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Tuesday | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Wednesday | 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
- Thursday | 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Friday | 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Clinic closed 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. daily
Address: 150 S. Fairview Ave., Decatur, IL 62526
Website: Millikin Health Clinic website
Springfield Planned Parenthood
Hours:
- Monday and Tuesday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Friday | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Address: 601 N. Bruns, Springfield, IL 62702
Website: Planned Parenthood Springfield website
Champaign Planned Parenthood
Hours:
- Monday | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Tuesday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Wednesday | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Thursday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Friday | 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Address: 302 E Stoughton St., Suite #2, Champaign, IL 61820
Website: Planned Parenthood Champaign website
Equity Clinic | Champaign, Illinois
Hours:
- Monday – Friday | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Thursday | 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Address: 2111 W Park Ct, Champaign, IL 61821
Website: Equity Clinic in Champaign website
Crossing Healthcare
Hours:
- Monday | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Tuesday | 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- Wednesday | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Thursday | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Friday | 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Address: 320 East Central Avenue, Decatur, Illinois 62521
Website: Crossing Healthcare website
Macon County Public Health
Hours:
- Monday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Tuesday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Wednesday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Thursday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Friday | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Address: 1221 E. Condit St. Decatur, IL 62521
Website: Macon County Public Health website
