Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Reproductive Health Act on Wednesday (June 12, 2019), which repeals the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, the Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act, and the Abortion Performance Refusal Act, among other contingencies.

HB 2495 passed the General Assembly at the end of May.

“In a time when too many states across the nation are taking a step backward, Illinois is taking a giant step forward for women’s health,” Pritzker said. “When it comes to contraception, abortion, and reproductive care, this law puts the decision-making where it belongs: in the hands of women and their doctors.”

Pritzker said the Reproductive Health Act ensures that women’s rights in Illinois do not hinge on the fate of Roe v. Wade or other federal legislation.

The new law ensures regulations reflect current medical standards and requires private health insurance plans in Illinois to cover abortion like they do other pregnancy-related care.

The law takes effect immediately.

SOURCE: state of Illinois news release

Bill Synopsis

Click this link to read the state of Illinois text regarding HB 2495.

• Creates the Reproductive Health Act. Provides that every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about one’s own reproductive health.
• Provides that every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise that right.
• Provides that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the law, of this State.
• Provides prohibited State actions.
• Provides that a party aggrieved by a violation of the Act may bring a civil lawsuit.
• Provides that a health care professional shall report each abortion performed to the Department of Public Health. Limits home rule powers.
• Repeals provisions regarding abortion in the Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act, the Sexual Assault Survivors Emergency Treatment Act, and the Injunction Article of the Code of Civil Procedure. Repeals the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, the Partial-birth Abortion Ban Act, and the Abortion Performance Refusal Act.
• Makes corresponding changes in the Children and Family Services Act, the Counties Code, the Medical Practice Act of 1987, the Vital Records Act, the Criminal Code of 2012, and the Rights of Married Persons Act.
• Amends the Freedom of Information Act.
• Provides that information and records held by the Department collected under the Reproductive Health Act is exempt from inspection and copying.
• Amends the Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center Act. Provides that that term “ambulatory surgical treatment center” does not include any facility in which the performance of abortion procedures is limited to those performed without general, epidural, or spinal anesthesia.
• Amends the Illinois Insurance Code.
• Provides insurance requirements for the coverage of abortion. Makes corresponding changes in the State Employees Group Insurance Act, the Health Maintenance Organization Act, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act.
• Amends the Nurse Practice Act. Provides that operative surgery does not include abortions performed without general, epidural, or spinal anesthesia, and other gynecological procedures related to abortions.
• Amends the Environmental Act.
• Provides that tissue and products from an abortion or miscarriage may be buried, entombed, or cremated.

How Kane County Legislators Voted

SOURCE: Chicago Tribune

Illinois Senate

• YES — Cristina Castro, D-Elgin
• NO — Donald P. DeWitte, R-St. Charles
• YES — Linda Holmes, D-Aurora
• NO — Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove
• NO — Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods
• NO — Dave Syverson, R-Rockford

Illinois House

• YES — Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora
• YES — Anna Moeller, D-Elgin
• NO — Allen Skillicorn, R-East Dundee
• NO — Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva
• YES — Karina Villa, D-West Chicago
• NO — Keith R. Wheeler, R-Oswego
• NO — David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills
• NO — Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore
• YES — Stephanie A. Kifowit, D-Oswego