SB 25: Illinois Reproductive Health Act

UPDATE 6/12/19: SB 25 was signed into law by Governor Pritzker. Read more here.

The Reproductive Health Act establishes the fundamental right to reproductive health which includes right to use/refuse contraception and the right to continue a pregnancy and give birth or have an abortion. It modernizes Illinois’ reproductive rights laws by repealing outdated and unconstitutional prohibitions on reproductive healthcare and enacting a new Illinois Reproductive Health Act that regulates abortion like any other form of health care. Read the text of the bill here.

The Reproductive Health Act includes the following provisions:

• Enact the new Illinois Reproductive Health Act (IRHA). The IRHA provides that every individual possesses fundamental rights with respect to personal decisions about their reproductive health, with limited governmental interference, including the right to choose or refuse birth control, the right to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth, and the right to choose or refuse abortion.
• Repeal the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 and the long-blocked Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 establishes criminal penalties for performing an abortion and fails to recognize many of the advances in healthcare. The Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act and many of the provisions of the Abortion Law of 1975 have been enjoined by courts and are unenforceable, but they have not been repealed. The bill repeals both laws and replaces with the Illinois Reproductive Health Act. These changes take regulation of abortion out of the criminal code and affirms that abortion care is health care, not criminal activity.
• Require insurance companies to provide coverage for abortions. The contraceptive coverage requirement in the Illinois Insurance Code does not include services related to abortion. The measure requires private health insurance plans in Illinois to cover abortion. Currently, insurance plans are required to cover contraception, infertility treatments, and maternity care. State employees and Medicaid recipients are guaranteed coverage, and the proposal expands this requirement for private insurance coverage.