* AP…

Abortion was slightly more common across the U.S. in the first three months of this year than it was before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and cleared the way for states to implement bans, a report released Wednesday found.

A major reason for the increase is that some Democratic-controlled states enacted laws to protect doctors who use telemedicine to see patients in places that have abortion bans, according to the quarterly #WeCount report for the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion access. […]

Fallout from the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has remade the way abortion works across the country. The #WeCount data, which has been collected in a monthly survey since April 2022, shows how those providing and seeking abortion have adapted to changing laws.

The survey found that the number of abortions fell to nearly zero in states that ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy and declined by about half in places that ban it after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant. Fourteen states are enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and four others bar it after about six weeks of pregnancy. [.,.]

Numbers went up in places where abortion remains legal until further into pregnancy — and especially in states such as Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico, which border states with bans.

* From the report…

During the period of January-March 2024, states that provided the largest average number of abortions per month included California (16,217), New York (9,660), Illinois (8,243), Florida (7,470), and New Jersey (4,983)

In June, WTTW reported 25% of Planned Parenthood of Illinois patients are from out of state — compared to about 4% pre-Dobbs.

* Governor JB Pritzker…

Today Governor JB Pritzker, joined by legislators, civil rights leaders, and activists, signed multiple bills designed to further protect reproductive rights in Illinois. The package of bills signed includes HB581, which ensures that pregnant women can access needed emergency medical care, HB5239, which expands Illinois’ shield laws, and HB4867, which clarifies and expands the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on reproductive health decisions.

“It is no longer enough to legislate for the current moment. We sadly have to anticipate a future when the Supreme Court and other bad actors further restrict and punish women seeking to exercise their medical rights and control over their bodies. ​ These new laws will ensure that women in Illinois and those travelling from out of state can avoid persecution and discrimination on every level,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “These laws work together alongside the legislation my administration has already put in place to ensure providers and patients alike can make the best decisions for themselves, their bodies, and their families without fear of retribution or legal liability from hostile states.”

“These bills ensure that medical decisions remain where they belong - in the hands of individuals and their doctors,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “Our state is committed to being a place where the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare is accessible and respected. The legislation signed today ensures that Illinois remains a beacon of hope and personal freedom.”

The Illinois response to EMTALA was passed due to concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn the federal EMTALA, which protects people’s right to stabilizing emergency care, including abortion when it is necessary to save the life or health of a patient. The passage of HB5239 ensures that doctors can continue to provide, and women can continue to receive, life and health saving reproductive care even if the federal legal standards change.

Illinois has passed legislation that shields both providers and patients who travel to Illinois from being punished by states with draconian abortion and gender affirming care restrictions. In January of 2023, Governor Pritzker enacted an interstate shield law protecting providers, patients, and those who assist patients in any way from licensure consequences and out of state legal actions. HB5239 further expands these protections. ​ Under the law, state and local jurisdictions cannot provide any information or expend any resources to help an out of state entity investigate legal healthcare, including abortions or gender affirming care, provided in Illinois.

HB4867 adds reproductive health decisions to the Illinois Human Rights Act. Reproductive health decisions include a broad continuum of personal decisions regarding abortion and birth control, fertility or sterilization care, miscarriage management care, assisted reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization, and prenatal, intranatal, and postnatal care.

HB 4867 clarifies and extends existing anti-discrimination protections by ensuring Illinoisans have the right to engage in reproductive health decision-making without facing discrimination. It also complements existing protections found in the Reproductive Health Act, which protects Illinoisans from State of Illinois interference with the fundamental rights of individuals to make autonomous decisions about their reproductive health. The Reproductive Health Decisions bill further protects Illinoisans from discrimination based on those decisions.

The protections apply across all areas of the Act, including employment, housing and real estate, financial credit, and public accommodations. Under this amendment, it would be a civil rights violation for:

An employer to terminate an employee for seeking to start or expand their family with the assistance of in-vitro fertilization
A housing provider to refuse a prospective tenant an apartment rental because the person had an abortion
A bank or credit union to deny an applicant a loan or credit because it would be used for fertility treatments

“Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, states around the country have enacted draconian measures to restrict patients’ access to critical reproductive health care – at the expense of patients’ health and lives,” Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. “My office is proud to continue to partner with Gov. Pritzker’s administration to draft legislation and identify new avenues to ensure Illinois is a safe haven for patients to access comprehensive abortion and gender-affirming care. I am committed to using the authority of my office to continue to defend against legal challenges to our laws that preserve Illinois as an oasis of reproductive health care.”

“Illinois stands as a sanctuary for all who seek to make personal health care decisions in privacy and safety,” said Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park). “These new laws reflect our unwavering commitment to protecting and valuing the rights of every individual.”

“Regardless of what happens at the federal level, or any decisions made by an extremist Supreme Court, in Illinois we believe that equitable access to safe reproductive health care is a fundamental right,” said House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. “In Illinois, people seeking health care won’t be criminalized, providers will never be forced to abandon their patients, and we will remain a safe haven for anyone in need of lifesaving care. I want to thank Reps. Cassidy, Moeller, Avelar, as well as the rest of our House Reproductive Health Working Group for their commitment to ensuring Illinois has the strongest protections possible.”

* Sen. Celina Villanueva…

A new law from State Senator Celina Villanueva will ensure reproductive health care records are not being improperly disclosed.

“As we navigate the war on reproductive rights, preventative laws like this are essential in counteracting restrictive and overarching laws of other states,” said Villanueva (D-Chicago). “As a safe haven state, it is our responsibility to reinforce state-level protections where federal protections have failed us.”

Last year Villanueva led House Bill 4664 – a law to shield out-of-state patients and in-state providers from legal action originating from other states regarding abortions performed here. To expand upon that measure and provide further protections, Villanueva championed House Bill 5239 this year.

The law will ensure that location information and health records for reproductive health care performed in Illinois will not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Further, it will ensure that units of local governments could not assist in imposing a civil or criminal liability against a person or provider who received reproductive or gender affirming care in Illinois.

“While federal protections are important, they have made it clear that state-level protections are crucial in safeguarding reproductive rights,” said Villanueva. “This law stands to uphold state autonomy as we continue to make reproductive healthcare a priority.”

House Bill 5239 was signed into law Wednesday and is effective immediately.

* Sen. Laura Fine…

o further safeguard patients from discriminatory practices based on their reproductive health decisions, State Senator Laura Fine spearheaded a law that adds additional protections under the Human Rights Act.

“Reproductive health and family planning decisions are personal and it is important that there are laws in place to ensure these rights are upheld in Illinois,” said Fine (D-Glenview). “These additions to the Human Rights Act will provide necessary protections.”

House Bill 4867 will protect against unlawful discrimination for individuals who exercise their reproductive health rights. The law adds “reproductive health decisions” as a vital protection under the Human Rights Act. This ensures an individual is not discriminated against in employment or housing for their reproductive health decisions, including the use of contraception, fertility or sterilization care, assisted reproductive technologies, miscarriage management care, health care related to the continuation or termination of pregnancy, and prenatal, intranatal and postnatal care.

“Illinois supports individuals making personal health care choices,” said Fine. “This law will help individuals feel protected.”

House Bill 4867 was signed into law Wednesday and goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.

* Sen. Celina Villanueva…

State Senator Celina Villanueva championed a newly signed law to continue to support reproductive health care, as anti-choice action threatens to infringe on people’s rights.

“These persistent anti-choice attacks are intolerable and protections are absolutely necessary,” said Villanueva (D – Chicago). “Women throughout Illinois and beyond have a constitutional right to access vital life-saving care and medically necessary services.”

House Bill 581 protects Illinois patients from another pending Supreme Court rollback of reproductive rights by ensuring Illinois hospitals must provide any medically necessary services—including abortion services—to stabilize a patient at risk of severe injury or death.

Villanueva’s measure came as the Supreme Court heard Moyle v. Idaho. This case questioned whether Idaho’s total abortion ban is exempt from the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Idaho argued that it should be exempt, which would have undermined critical patient protections in cases of severe pregnancy complications. The Supreme Court dismissed the case – putting it back in the hands of Idaho’s Ninth Circuit Court. However, it is expected the case will once again be heard before SCOTUS in the future – further securing the need for Illinois to ensure these protections remain in place and impose civil penalties on hospitals that refuse to provide lifesaving abortion procedures through House Bill 581.

“Maintaining and reinforcing measures that ensure the well-being and inalienable rights of women in Illinois will always be a priority,” said Villanueva. “By strengthening our reproductive health care laws to support the delicate process of bringing life into this world we are able to protect women in a nation that is committed to denying our rights.”

House Bill 581 was signed into law Wednesday and is effective immediately.

* Rep. Dagmara Avelar…

Today, Governor Pritzker signed into law House Bill 581, sponsored by Representative Dagmara ‘Dee’ Avelar, D-Romeoville, which will proactively protect women’s right to life-saving care from being restricted by adverse rulings from the Supreme Court of the United States.

“Today, Illinois stands as a model of compassion and care, reaffirming our commitment to ensuring that no pregnant person facing a medical crisis is denied the care they need,” said Representative Dagmara ‘Dee’ Avelar, D-Romeoville. “Unfortunately, we are being forced to take action as the recent decisions by the anti-choice majority on the Supreme Court has put the lives and wellbeing of millions of women at risk. I am proud to stand with Governor Pritzker and my colleagues in the General Assembly to remove the possibility of a Supreme Court ruling restricting the ability of pregnant people to receive the unfettered professional care that is their right.”

Although currently protected by federal law, the Supreme Court’s anti-choice majority deferred a ruling in Moyle v Idaho, a case that would exempt Idaho’s total abortion ban from the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). Idaho has presented the Court with an argument that, if accepted, would dismantle critical patient protections in cases involving severe pregnancy complications. The court’s decision has kept open the possibility that they may interfere with women’s ability to access lifesaving care on very short notice.

Should the Supreme Court again strike down federal protections for patient health, House Bill 581 would ensure these protections remain in place in Illinois and would impose civil penalties on hospitals that refuse to provide lifesaving abortion procedures.

With the passage of this bill into law, women, and all pregnant people, will not have to worry about accessing lifesaving treatment in Illinois.