From vasectomies to abortion pills, Planned Parenthood sets up mobile clinic near DNC

The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you the latest on the Democratic National Convention.

As Democrats began gathering for the first day of their convention, across town, Luis Ayala was getting something he’d been wanting for a while.

“I mean, it was a little uncomfortable,” he said, laughing. “I don’t think it was painful but it was uncomfortable.”

He was a little uncomfortable because he just had a vasectomy.

Ayala is 28 and works as an electrician. His wife saw a social media post about a free reproductive health clinic Planned Parenthood was sponsoring in Chicago during the Democratic convention, and suggested that he sign up.

“I have three kids and pretty much I wanted to stop having kids,” Ayala explained about having the procedure.

“That way I can focus on the three kids that I have and give them the best future they can have.”

His wife, Fabiola Ayala, says they wanted the procedure a few years ago while she was pregnant with their third child.

But another doctor discouraged her husband because he was in his early 20s.

“So I ended up having to get on birth control and I’m ready to remove my birth control and just get off the hormones,” she said.

Luis Ayala was just one of 10 patients who sought vasectomy care at the mobile clinic.

In a second exam room on the other side of the RV, Dr. Colleen McNicholas offered prescriptions for abortion pills - which she says patients could take on site or take home, under Illinois law.

Illinois, where Democrats control state government, has become a major access point for patients seeking abortions.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to show how when you have a state like Illinois that prioritizes healthcare access and passes good policy that you can be creative and innovative in how you meet people’s healthcare needs,” Dr. McNicholas said of the clinics presence near the convention.

Planned Parenthood purchased the RV in response to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which allowed most of Illinois’ neighboring states to heavily restrict abortion.

McNicholas is Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of Great Rivers, which serves parts of Missouri and Illinois.

Providing abortion in the region means navigating a variety of challenges including security. The unit was set up inside a fenced lot, with several security guards on hand.

On the perimeter, anti-abortion protestors occasionally clashed with abortion rights activists who were on hand to support the effort.

Anti-abortion demonstrators shouted “abortion is genocide” as patients visited the mobile clinic.

“The truth is we’re used to that. We know that the services that we provide bring out folks who are in opposition,” McNicholas said.

“But the truth is healthcare shouldn’t be politicized,” she added.

Still, in the current political reality, abortion is a key issue that galvanizes each party’s base.

In a statement, National Right to Life President Carol Tobias called the Planned Parenthood clinic “disgusting,” and said it was “not surprising,” given the Democratic Party’s support for abortion rights.

Meanwhile, at the convention, Democrats are showcasing the stories of women who’ve been affected by abortion bans - including a rape victim and patients facing medical complications.

The mobile Planned Parenthood clinic continues for a second day, providing medication abortion through late Tuesday night.