Welch also issued the following statement:
On Sunday evening the Peoria Planned Parenthood Health Center was vandalized when someone threw a fire accelerant through a window, causing a fire in the building. We are grateful to the prompt response from firefighters who put out the fire, however there is significant damage to the building. Thankfully, no patients or team members were present or harmed. Senseless acts of vandalism have been on the rise across the country and Illinois has become a target as extreme and divisive rhetoric increases. We are working with local authorities and will prosecute the vandal(s) to the fullest extent of the law. We will not stop providing the essential health care our patients need and deserve. We pledge to work swiftly to meet the needs of our Peoria patients and those traveling from other states to receive reproductive health care.
According to 25News, a neighbor living on the street called in the incident. She told the outlet she saw an individual pull up in a car with a maroon door at the corner close to her house before walking towards the facility with what looked like a lunchbox. She added that she witnessed the suspect smash a window in, throw a flaming object inside, and run down the length of the street back to their vehicle.
While nobody was in the building at the time of the fire, a firefighter responding to the incident was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, the department said according to the Journal Star.
Although abortion procedures are not performed at the Peoria Planned Parenthood clinic, abortion pills effective through the 11th week of pregnancy are available. The clinic also offers services including birth control prescription, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and hormone replacement therapy for trans patients.
The Fire Department told 25News that this isn’t the first incident of its kind at the facility. The facility has seen other acts of violence, including vandalism.
“We have extremists in our midst, right here in Peoria, who will stop at nothing to make a point,” Peoria Sen. Dave Koehler said.
Noting the rise in attacks on Illinois clinics, Welch confirmed Planned Parenthood would be working with law enforcement officials to seek justice.
“We are working with local authorities and will prosecute the vandal(s) to the fullest extent of the law,” Welch said. “We will not stop providing the essential health care our patients need and deserve. We pledge to work swiftly to meet the needs of our Peoria patients and those traveling from other states to receive reproductive health care.”
The incident follows several others across the country, including an incident in 2022 where a man set fire to a Planned Parenthood building in Tennessee. That fire was so “heavy” that by the time the Knoxville fire department crew reached the site, flames were coming out of the roof, resulting in the entire building being damaged. Luckily no one was injured in the incident, Daily Kos reported.
RELATED STORY: ‘Huge loss for the community’: Police say Planned Parenthood building fire was intentional
Anti-abortion supporters are resorting to any means necessary to scare and deter people from accessing their reproductive rights. Abortion rights across the country are continuously under attack. A vote for Republicans is a vote to ban abortion.
