Radical Illinois Bill Would Repeal Parental Notification and Ban on Partial-Birth Abortions

State   |   Mallory Quigley   |   May 29, 2019   |   3:57PM   |   Springfied, IL

The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) slammed radical legislation passed by Illinois lawmakers to expand abortion on demand through birth, allow non-doctors to perform abortions, repeal the state’s ban on partial birth abortion, and more.

Yesterday, the Illinois House of Representatives passed the Illinois Reproductive Health Act, or Late-Term Abortion No Restrictions Bill. SBA List mobilized its Illinois grassroots members to contact their representatives to oppose the bill, which now goes to the Senate.

“Today the Illinois House passed the most extreme expansion of abortion on demand in the entire country – more radical even than New York’s,” said SBA List’s National Campaign Chair Jill Stanek, an Illinois native, a former nurse who witnessed babies being born alive and left to die in Chicago. “It allows abortion throughout pregnancy, up to the moment of birth, for any reason. It allows abortions by a non-doctor in a facility that’s not inspected and doesn’t have to report injuries. It strips away conscience protections for pro-life health care workers and forces all health insurance policies to cover abortions, including religious organizations. It even goes so far as to repeal Illinois’ ban on barbaric partial-birth abortions and eliminates protections for babies born alive during failed abortions.

“In sharp contrast with the nationwide trend of state lawmakers – including courageous pro-life Democrats who have defeated similar bills in Rhode Island and New Mexico – working to enact popular protections for unborn children and their mothers, Illinois lawmakers have doubled down on extremism, using the final days of their session to ram this legislation through. Since Illinois expanded taxpayer funding of abortion, the state has experienced a stunning 1,758 percent increase in abortions paid for by taxpayers. Illinoisans do not want our state to be known as the ‘abortion oasis’ of the Midwest. We urge the Senate to reject this bill.”

The Honorable Peter Breen, former Illinois Representative and Thomas More Society Vice President and Senior Counsel, added, “This is easily the most expansive abortion law in the United States.”

The Late-Term Abortion No Restrictions Bill would:

  • Repeal the Illinois Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act;
  • Create a “fundamental right” to abortion on demand through the moment of birth, for any reason;
  • Provide legal framework to abolish Illinois’ parental notification law;
  • Remove licensing requirements for abortion facilities;
  • Allow non-doctors to perform abortions;
  • Force all private health insurance plans to cover abortion on demand, including religious organizations;
  • Expressly declare that the unborn child has no rights;
  • Remove conscience protections for pro-life doctors, nurses, and hospitals;
  • Eliminate the requirement that abortion data, including the number of abortions performed on out-of-state women or underage girls, be reported publicly;
  • Eliminate the requirement to investigate maternal deaths due to abortion.

The vote comes as a bipartisan majority of the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee and the New Mexico Senate recently voted to reject similar legislation.

ACTION ALERT: Call and email your state senators immediately to oppose the bill.