Arson suspected at Illinois Planned Parenthood after state expands abortion rights

Authorities are investigating a suspected arson attack at a Planned Parenthood clinic in central Illinois just two days after sweeping protections for abortion rights in the state were signed into law.

Police are searching for an unknown suspect who was reported “throwing a molotov cocktail” from a pickup truck at a Planned Parenthood facility in Peoria, Ill., at about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, police spokesperson Semone Roth told WLS in Chicago.

Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, said in a statement that while authorities were able to contain the fire to one room and extinguish the blaze, the building suffered “significant damage.” Police confirmed this week that the preliminary cause of the fire was arson.

“Senseless acts of vandalism have been on the rise across the country and Illinois has become a target as extreme and divisive rhetoric increases,” Welch said.

No patients or staff were inside the building at the time of the fire, but one firefighter suffered injuries that were life-threatening, according to the Peoria Police Department.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois announced on its website that the Peoria Health Center “will be temporarily closed until further notice as we work to rebuild the center.” Photos of the building show windows broken out from the flames and other damaged areas boarded up. The organization is rescheduling patients who had appointments to other health-care centers.

“We appreciate your support during these challenging times,” the announcement reads.

The suspected arson attack at the Peoria clinic came only two days after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed into law sweeping abortion rights legislation that protects people seeking abortions from out of state and allows them access to the procedure in Illinois. The bill also protects reproductive health-care providers and patients from legal attacks in neighboring states, months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“Here in Illinois, we hold certain ideals: Abortion is health care,” Pritzker said in a statement Friday. “A medical decision should be made between a patient and their doctor — no one else.”

Tensions have remained high throughout the United States in the months since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Even before the ruling, attacks against abortion providers increased by 128 percent in 2021, according to the National Abortion Federation, a professional association of abortion providers. The Department of Homeland Security warned last summer of a heightened threat environment in which those for and against abortion have “encouraged violence” on public forums.

In addition to attacks against abortion facilities, there has also been a spate of suspected arson and vandalism against antiabortion groups and resource centers, including in Wisconsin, Oregon, Virginia and North Carolina.

Mary Kate Zander, executive director of the antiabortion organization Illinois Right to Life, condemned the attack on the Peoria clinic, saying in a statement to WLS, “We would never condone violence against any Planned Parenthood or any other abortion clinic.”

“The primary reason that we stand against abortion is that it’s an act of violence,” Zander said. “So it would be hypocritical of us to not say the same in the case of an act of violence against abortion workers.”

While the Peoria Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division obtained video footage that identified the vehicle of a suspect, no arrests had been made as of early Thursday. Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying and finding the truck and driver they think were involved in the attack. The investigation is ongoing.

Welch emphasized that the Peoria facility does not perform “in-clinic procedures,” but does provide other reproductive and sexual health-care services. She vowed that Planned Parenthood would work with authorities to prosecute the perpetrator “to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The vast majority of our Peoria Health Center patients were coming to us for family planning, STI testing and treatment and other reproductive health care,” she said in a statement. “This act of vandalism will have a devastating impact on the community’s ability to access birth control, cancer screenings and gender-affirming care.”