Illinois now has one of the most 'progressive' abortion laws in the U.S., governor says

Just weeks after neighboring Missouri passed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, Illinois is flipping the switch.

The state's Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) on Wednesday signed into a law a bill that provides sweeping protections for abortion rights, which he has said makes Illinois the "most progressive" state in the nation when it comes to the issue. The news comes at a time when several states, including Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia, have passed and signed laws that provide numerous challenges for those seeking access to abortion, such as early cutoff timelines and eliminating rape and incest as viable exceptions. But Pritzker and Illinois opted to go in a different direction, with the governor touting the progressive nature of the new bill.

"In a time when too many states are taking a step backward, Illinois is taking a giant step forward for women's health," Pritzker said in a statement. "Illinois is demonstrating what it means to affirm the rights of individuals to make the most personal and fundamental decisions of their lives, no matter your income level, race, ethnicity, or religion." The Reproductive Health Act, as its called, is effective in the state immediately. Whereas the restrictive laws elsewhere are widely viewed as part of a movement to overturn Roe v. Wade at the federal level, the sponsors of the Illinois law said that the new bill is meant to serve as a "firewall" should Roe be overturned.

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The bill states that a "fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights," protects the right of individuals to make "autonomous" choices about their own reproductive health, and repeals a 1975 state law that penalized doctors for performing "unnecessary" abortions.