Last weekend, we recognized the 49th anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which affirmed a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions.
While reproductive rights are under attack in both the Supreme Court and state legislatures across the country, we are lucky that here in Illinois we’ve fought to be a safe haven for women across the Midwest.
Let’s take a look at the progress we’ve made to make Illinois the most pro-choice state in the country!
Where do reproductive rights stand in Illinois?
Over the last few years, we have fought to make Illinois a 100% pro-choice state. The Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019, protects a woman’s right to abortion in Illinois regardless of what happens at the federal level.
This fall, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Youth Health and Safety Act — a law to repeal the parental notification of abortion. This ensures young women will no longer face barriers to seeking the healthcare they need and is an important step toward removing burdens people face when exercising their reproductive freedom.
We also recently passed HB135, which allows for easier access to birth control. This new law allows trained pharmacists, in agreement with physicians, to dispense birth control over the counter. This makes it easier for women to access the birth control they need, including women who don’t regularly see a doctor and women who might have a general distrust of medical professionals.
State Representative Margaret Croke will always stand on the side of women’s reproductive rights and will continue to fight to protect Illinois’s status as the #1 pro-choice state within the Midwest and the country. Rep. Croke continues to push legislation that will improve women’s reproductive healthcare and rights within the state of Illinois and hopes to see improvements around the country for women’s reproductive rights as well.
What’s next for Illinois?
Illinois is a safe haven for reproductive rights, but there is still so much work to be done to improve health outcomes for women and fix the inequities in our healthcare system faced by LGBTQ+ individuals, minorities, undocumented immigrants, and others.
Rep. Croke also recently introduced HB4133, which would require a biological father of a child to pay 50% of the mother’s out-of-pocket pregnancy expenses, an important measure to ensure mothers aren’t faced with unfair financial burdens as they start a family.
Illinois is a leader in protecting women’s reproductive health rights, but we can’t let the work stop here. Rep. Croke will always fight to protect the reproductive freedom of women and all Illinoisans across our state.