Metro East Sun

Metro-East state Rep. Katie Stuart has not returned calls for comment on the legislation to legalize third-trimester abortions and repeal parental notification laws.

Stuart, however, is a co-sponsor of HB 2495 that makes abortion legal all nine months of pregnancy and repeals right-of-conscience protections. Additionally, in 2017, Stuart helped ensure that Illinois tax dollars would fund abortion by voting for HB 40.

Following the lead of their New York counterparts, Democrats in Illinois’ state legislature have filed several controversial abortion bills. One piece of legislation would legalize abortion at any time during pregnancy. The bill also removes right-of-conscience protections and would allow abortions to be performed by non-doctors (House Bill 2495).  

Also filed is a companion bill to repeal the Parental Notification Act of 1995, which requires a family member to be notified when a minor is seeking an abortion (House Bill 2467). 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has promised to make Illinois the “most progressive state in the nation” on the issue of abortion. His promise was delivered during a press conference at which he issued an executive order to enforce House Bill 40, a bill signed by former Gov. Bruce Rauner. HB 40 allowed women to pay for an abortion using a state insurance plan or Medicaid coverage.

If the proposed bills pass in the legislature, Pritzker has publicly vowed that they will be signed into law.