Update: Planned Parenthood saw 8 medical abortion patients at mobile clinic near DNC, facility confirms

More than a dozen individuals took advantage of the mobile Planned Parenthood clinic set up near the Democratic National Convention and underwent anti-life medical interventions, including abortions and vasectomies.

On Monday and Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers — which normally sees patients in Missouri and southern Illinois — opened a mobile clinic in the West Loop of Chicago, just a few blocks from the United Center, which is currently hosting the DNC, as Blaze News previously reported.

'We know that the services that we provide bring out folks who are in opposition.'

In a statement, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers informed Blaze News that it "served 9 vasectomy patients and 8 medication abortion patients between the two days."

The facility also clarified that, while some reports indicated that a total of between 20 and 30 patients visited the clinic, those were just the "approximate number of time slots" available.

Those women who received abortion-inducing medication from the mobile clinic could take them on-site or at home to comply with Illinois law, NPR reported, citing Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers who performed services at the pop-up abortion center.

"We're just really excited to provide the opportunity for the thousands of folks who are coming to Illinois to demonstrate for them that it is possible to start closing some healthcare gaps for folks," McNicholas said.

Luis Ayala was among the "folks" at the clinic this week. The 28-year-old husband and father of three described the vasectomy he received as "a little uncomfortable."

"I have three kids and pretty much I wanted to stop having kids," Ayala explained to NPR.

Ayala's wife, Fabiola, supported the decision. "I’m ready to remove my birth control and just get off the hormones," she said.

Ayala signed up to visit the mobile clinic after Fabiola spotted an ad about the "free" services offered at the clinic, and a post to the Planned Parenthood facility's X account did promote "FREE vasectomies & medication abortion" as well as free emergency contraception. However, whether all of the patients who visited the clinic this week received free services is unclear.

Some pro-life protesters also gathered near the clinic, which was surrounded by a fence, and chanted, "Abortion is genocide," perhaps borrowing a phrase from other protesters in the area who alluded to "genocide" in Gaza.

McNicholas claimed she's "used to" the chants of pro-life activists. "We know that the services that we provide bring out folks who are in opposition," she told NPR.

"But the truth is healthcare shouldn’t be politicized."

McNicholas did not explain how killing unborn children or preventing healthy reproductive organs from functioning properly are forms of "health care."

In a statement to NPR, National Right to Life president Carol Tobias described the pop-up abortion center near the DNC as "disgusting" but "not surprising."

Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz have focused heavily on abortion for a while now, even before Harris tapped Walz to join her at the top of the Democratic ticket earlier this month. Back in March, they toured a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Minnesota together, marking the first time a sitting president or vice president has visited an abortion clinic.

"My role is to do what I just did, which is to articulate exactly these points and to continue to articulate them and to organize folks around what I know is an issue that is impacting more people than you ever really know," Harris helpfully explained to the clinic staff during her visit.

Editor's note: This article and headline have been updated to reflect information that Planned Parenthood Great Rivers shared with Blaze News in a statement received after deadline.

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