Decades ago, an entire 40-bed ward at Cook County Hospital, now Stroger Hospital, was dedicated to women suffering from sepsis after illicit abortions. Mikaitis

Cook County Health CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis recalled the dedication as the county announced a $2 million grant to the Chicago Abortion Fund as the area remains a beacon for abortion care in the Midwest.

“Before abortion was legal, Cook County Hospital saw the harsh reality of criminalizing abortion,” he said at a Tuesday news conference at Stroger announcing the grant.

“The hospital had an entire 40-bed wing dedicated to treating sepsis in women who had no other option but to seek an unsafe, unregulated abortion.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022

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