Missouri is one of those states where getting an abortion requires going through a series of Republican-erected obstacles, including an unnecessary 72-hour waiting period. The state’s lawmakers are also trying to pass a bill banning abortions after a heartbeat is detected — something that occurs before some women even know they’re pregnant.

But if you were to drive just over the state line, about ten minutes from St. Louis, you would be in Granite City, Illinois. And Illinois is a state where women’s health is respected.

The Hope Clinic for Women provides abortion care, and taking a page from another clinic in Colorado, they just put up a billboard welcoming visitors from Missouri.

“We saw the billboard campaign [in Colorado] and just loved it,” explains Alison Dreith, the media relations coordinator for Hope. … Dreith, who lives in St. Louis, says that Hope Clinic wants to use the billboard to “call attention to the drastic different realities” between Illinois and Missouri. In a press release, Dr. Erin King, an OB/GYN who serves as the clinic’s executive director, states, “The goal of this billboard is to remind people coming in from Missouri that they are now in a state that trusts and allows pregnant people to make their own healthcare and family planning decisions.”

It’s a brilliant idea, in part because it reminds women that abortions are nothing to be ashamed of. They’ll be respected to make their own decisions, get non-judgmental care, and know that they’re in good hands.

(Don’t get too excited. As someone who’s driven around the state many times, I can safely say Illinois has plenty of other billboards reminding people they’re going to Hell.)

If you want to support the clinic, there’s a way to give online right here.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)

