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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments law
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published