Abortion legislation has cropped up in the Illinois Legislature, as four bills were filed this week.
House Bill 2467 and Senate Bill 1594 are identical pieces of legislation that would repeal the current parental notification of abortion law. Meanwhile, House Bill 2495 and Senate Bill 1942 — also identical to one another — are both dubbed the Reproductive Health Act and make several changes to current abortion law.
HB 2467 and SB 1594 repeal the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act, which requires a parent or legal guardian be notified when a minor seeks an abortion. The law includes a waiver for those children who have been physically or sexually abused. Although the law was passed in 1995, legal wranglings barred it from taking effect until July 2013, when the Illinois Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling implementing the law.
HB 2495 and SB 1942 define abortion as a fundamental right, repeal the state’s ban on partial-birth abortions, remove the requirement that only doctors can perform abortions, and jeopardize legal protections for doctors and hospitals who refuse to participate in an abortion. These bills include other changes to current law regarding abortion, and the Catholic Conference is analyzing those changes for their impact.
CCI opposes all four pieces of legislation in their current form. We will keep you updated on these bills here on our website, as well as through emails sent through our Illinois Catholic Advocacy Network.
RESOURCES:
Fact sheet on HB 2467/SB 1594.
Fact sheet on HB 2495/SB 1942.
Summary of information regarding abortion in Illinois.
Gallup May 2018 poll shows only 13 percent Americans support third-trimester abortions.
Legal analysis of HB 2495/SB 1492 by nationally-recognized expert on abortion law, Paul Linton.
Bulletin insert in English, Spanish and Polish.
Life Advocacy Days are scheduled for Wed., March 20 and Wed., April 3 at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield. Lay Catholics from the Springfield, Rockford, Peoria and Belleville dioceses will travel to Springfield on March 20, while Catholics from the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Joliet diocese will travel to Springfield on April 3. Please contact the Respect Life office at your diocese for more information by clicking on the hyperlinked name of the diocese in the previous sentence.