Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law on Friday that legally protects out-of-state abortion seekers, as well as abortionists and doctors who perform sex-mutilating surgeries, CBS Chicago reported.
“In addition to shielding reproductive and gender-affirming health care patients and providers from legal action originating across state lines, the act will also protect the Illinois licenses of health care providers licensed in multiple states who provide treatment legal in Illinois but may cost them their license in a state where it’s not,” according to the report. “The measure also prevents insurers from charging more for out-of-network care when in-network providers object to treatment on moral grounds.”
During the signing, Pritzker claimed that a “medical decision should be made between a patient and their health care provider.”
“Here in Illinois, we know that reproductive care is health care,” he said.
The bill’s sponsor, Democrat state Sen. Celina Villanueva, said the legislation “consolidates Illinois as an island that protects reproductive and gender affirming rights in the Midwest.”
Planned Parenthood of Illinois said it has seen people from 33 different states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, “compared with ten to 15 before the ruling,” the report states. Planned Parenthood spokesperson Mary Jane Maharry states that approximately 30 percent of its patients are from outside of the state, compared to 6 percent before the Dobbs decision.
FILE – Missouri and American flags fly outside Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, June 24, 2022. On Wednesday, Dec. 28, a judge rejected Missouri lawmakers’ efforts to stop Planned Parenthood from receiving any public funding. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Pro-life advocates say the bill is contributing a malevolent state legacy.
“[The governor’s] pro-abortion legacy is, in practice, harming women and depriving unborn children of an opportunity at life. This may be politically expedient for Gov. Pritzker today, but it won’t age well,” said Mary Kate Zander, head of anti-abortion organization Illinois Right to Life.
“In 2021, the state legislature ignored the public’s wishes and voted to repeal its parental notification law, which required at least one parent to be notified before their underage daughter has an abortion. The state also forces taxpayers to pay for abortions and allows unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth,” according to the pro-life news website.
More than 46,000 unborn babies were killed in abortions in the state 2020, according to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.