Evanston resident Kemone Hendricks said President-elect Donald Trump’s victory earlier this month was disappointing but not surprising.
In 2020, Hendricks founded Evanston Present and Future, an organization that aims to combat anti-Black discrimination. She said activists in Evanston are concerned about the future of reproductive rights during Trump’s second term.
“It’s going to make the work a lot harder for activists like me and others who are trying to ensure that Illinois remains a safe haven,” Hendricks said. “It’s also going to impact the organizations we support that provide services to people traveling from out-of-state to get their abortions.”
Trump’s public stance on abortion remains unclear. In a video he posted to Truth Social in April, he said he was proud of appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
During the 2024 presidential debate, Trump did not say whether he would veto legislation banning abortion nationwide. But in October, he wrote on Truth Social that he would veto a national ban.
Activists Gretchen Brewster and Alice Sachs started the Evanston Voices for Choice Coalition in 2022.
The coalition, consisting of local reproductive rights advocacy groups and individuals, has organized annual pro-choice rallies in Evanston for the past three years.
Brewster said she believes Trump would sign legislation banning abortion nationwide. Republicans won control of the House and Senate this year, and conservatives currently have a 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court. Trump supported a 2017 bill that would have banned all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
“He’s so underhanded, and he’s got a team who are equally underhanded, and they’ll do what they want to make life very difficult and scary,” Brewster said.
Beyond restrictions on abortion itself, Sachs said she worries the new administration could track women traveling between states to receive abortion care.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Reproductive Health Act in 2019 to legally protect abortion access in the state.
Evanston City Council adopted a resolution in 2022 to reinforce the outlined protections. There are no abortion clinics in Evanston.
Chicago-based activist Kenyette Tisha Barnes spoke at the inaugural Evanston Pro-Choice Rally and March in October 2022. She said out-of-state anti-abortion groups might intimidate or use violence against reproductive care centers in Illinois.
“I am concerned about that on a safety level,” Barnes said. “I think we are going to see increased violence against our abortion providers, against women who are seeking abortion services. I just don’t see this ending well.”
Candace Davis serves on the leadership team of Indivisible Evanston, a progressive organization that sponsors the annual Evanston Pro-Choice Rally and March, according to Brewster. Davis said the new Trump administration may carry out policies outlined in Project 2025, an initiative created by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.
Project 2025 recommends requiring states to report all abortions, the methods used and reasons for the procedures to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. States that do not comply risk losing federal healthcare funding.
Barnes said these requirements would make accessing abortion care in Illinois more expensive and time-consuming. She also said she worries the Food and Drug Administration will reverse its approval of Mifepristone, the drug used in most medical abortions.
Trump has denied his involvement in Project 2025.
“He is a well-known liar and will say anything to get elected,” Davis said. “I think what he says is less important than what the people behind him are saying. Project 2025 clearly is shooting for a nationwide ban and more restrictions on abortion.”
Most voters do not prioritize abortion because it does not affect them directly, Barnes said. Instead, she said she thinks many voters this cycle were dissatisfied with the current administration’s handling of “immediate, everyday needs” like inflation, healthcare and public safety.
Brewster and Sachs said they have had difficulty recruiting younger volunteers. The average age of Evanston Voices for Choice Coalition members is 80, Brewster said.
Sachs said she continues advocating for reproductive health because her friends and family may need it someday.
“We’re not going to get pregnant, but we have granddaughters, daughters,” Sachs said.
Brewster said the coalition plans to start a website and hold a fundraising concert next year to raise money for organizations like the Chicago Abortion Fund, which assists women from neighboring states with abortion bans.
Davis said Indivisible Evanston will call on local members of Congress to preserve reproductive healthcare nationwide.
“We’re lucky to live in Illinois,” Davis said. “But that means putting pressure on our legislators to do everything they can to protect abortion rights.”
Email: [email protected]
X: @jdowb2005
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Illinois voters approve advisory measure expanding coverage for IVF treatments
— ‘We can win this battle:’ Evanston residents, politicians rally for abortion rights
