After much debate from state lawmakers throughout lame-duck session, a measure that aims to increase access to abortion and gender reassignment procedures in Illinois has been signed into law by Gov. Pritzker.
The legislation is sponsored by state Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, who said the measure was in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year to put the issue of abortion back to the states.
Sen. Celina Villanueva of Chicago: “This legislation consolidates Illinois as an island that protects reproductive and gender-affirming rights in the Midwest,” Villaneuva said. “It places our state at the forefront of a nation for granting people the freedom to make their life decisions.”
Proponents say House Bill 4664 protects people seeking abortions, assisted reproduction and gender reassignment procedures in Illinois while expanding who can perform these procedures and protecting them from out-of-state prosecution.
“Last summer, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, I promised you that Illinois would take action to protect our people,” Pritzker said. “The General Assembly passed House Bill 4664, a monumental new law that further protects patients and providers who seek and deliver legal and safe reproductive healthcare in Illinois.”
Pritzker signed the measure on Friday in Chicago.
The measure was met with pushback from Republican lawmakers and groups opposed to relaxing abortion regulations.
The bill passed through the Senate with a 41-16 vote and later was approved by the Illinois House 70-39. The measure goes into effect immediately.
Commentary from Lawmakers and Officials:
Pritzker says the law is another step in protecting Illinoisan’s healthcare rights.
“Here in Illinois, we worked together to protect reproductive rights, and we succeeded when we signed the reproductive health act in 2019,” Pritzker said.
Molly Rumley spoke before a Senate committee on behalf of Illinois Right to Life before the measure passed. She warned of to the dangers of specific individuals performing medical procedures.
“One of the major problems we see with this bill is it allows nondoctors to perform surgical abortions,” Rumley said. “This is not in the best interest of women. If such surgeries are to be done, they should be done in a manner with physicians who are trained to do this, and that is safe for the women.”
Republican State Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, took issue with the no parental notification language in the bill.
“This can be paid for by taxpayer dollars, and their parents never have to know, and it can be done in a clinic that is not held up to medical standards,” Bourne said during House floor debate on the bill. “It is not exactly the same as a woman and her doctor, and it is not exactly safe, legal, and rare either.”
Chicago Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who sponsored the proposal in the House of Representatives, said the new law ensures that “Illinois will continue to serve the thousands of people traveling to our state every month to receive abortions and other reproductive and gender-affirming health care, which they can no longer access in their home states.”
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