No timeline set for city's second abortion clinic to open
Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe Vs. Wade, the Rockford Family Planning Foundation is continuing to work toward opening an abortion clinic at 4236 Maray Drive.
Although Executive Director Ann Raschein said renovations are complete at the 3,600-square-foot facility and they have a medical director, it's taking longer than expected to hire other key personnel.
Raschein said no opening date has been set and she declined to provide an estimated timeline.
"On average, it takes at least two years to open a clinic," Raschein said. "I think we were hopeful that it would be sooner and some things have come up that have delayed our process a little bit. We are still in the process of opening and look forward to being open to the
Rockford Community as soon as possible."
The clinic would be the second location to open in Rockford offering abortion services since the June 2022 Supreme Court decision. It would offer surgical abortions in addition to medication-induced abortions.
The elimination of a constitutional right to an abortion revived what was believed to be a Wisconsin Civil War-era law that banned abortion. A group of Wisconsin activists and volunteers joined forces to establish the Rockford Family Planning Foundation to restore abortion services in Rockford where abortion services have more legal protection than in Wisconsin.
In December, a judge ruled that the 174-year-old Wisconsin law did not prohibit abortion but instead applied to "feticide." Raschein said the potential change in the Wisconsin legal land
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Today is Tuesday, June 25, the 177th day of 2024. There are 189 days left in the year. On this date in:
1876: In protest of a U.S. War Department order to return to their reservations, about 2,000 Native American warriors led by Sitting Bull defended land rights at the Battle of Little Big Horn, killing Army Lt. Col. George Custer and over 250 7th Cavalry Regiment soldiers under his command over two days in what's now Montana. About 8,000 Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people had come to camp along the Little Big Horn River that year after the Army ignored a treaty and seized the Lakota reservation in the Black Hills of what's now South Dakota.
1947: Contact first published “The Diary of a Young Girl,” the journal of Anne Frank's experience that began when she was 13, about three weeks before she and family members went into hiding for two years from the Nazis who occupied the Netherlands during World War II.
1998: Software giant Microsoft released its first copies of the Windows 98 operating system to the retail market. By February 1999, the company said it had sold 25 million licenses of Windows 98 worldwide, including retail upgrades and versions preinstalled on new PCs.
Signs your pet may be sick
The likelihood of your cat contracting bird flu is minimal. However, it can happen if your cat is often outside and ends up eating or getting too cozy with an infected bird, or hangs out in a contaminated environment. If you suspect people or animals in your home have been around a sick or dead bird, you should monitor them for these signs:
● Fever or feeling feverish/chills
● Cough
● Sore throat
● Difficulty breathing/shortness of breath
● Conjunctivitis (eye tearing, redness, irritation, or discharge from eye)
● Headaches
● Runny or stuffy nose
● Muscle or body aches
● Diarrhea
How to prevent the spread
Avoiding exposure in the first place is the most effective way to stop the spread, according to the CDC.
● Avoid direct contact with wild birds.
● Avoid contact between pets and wild birds
● Don't touch sick or dead birds, their feces or litter or any surface or water source that might be contaminated with their saliva, feces, or any other bodily fluids without wearing personal protective equipment.
● Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes after contact with birds or surfaces that may be contaminated.
● Wash your hands after touching birds or other sick animals.
● Change clothes after contact with wild birds, poultry and sick animals.