Avelar Passes Bill Protecting Lifesaving Reproductive Care in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A bill passed by state Rep. Dagmara ‘Dee’ Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, passed out of the House proactively protects women’s right to life-saving care from any further attacks on women’s health by the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court. 

“In Illinois, we believe that every woman deserves the right to safe, compassionate care. No one should be denied the care that could protect them from severe injury or death, which is why it is so important we safeguard the legal protections women in Illinois have long taken for granted. Unfortunately, we are being forced to take action as the recent actions taken by the extremist anti-choice majority on the Supreme Court has put the lives and wellbeing of millions of women at risk,” said Avelar. “As an Illinoisian and as a woman, I will not back down until we honor the humanity of every patient. Providing medically necessary services, like life-saving abortions, is a baseline commitment to safeguarding the well-being and inalienable rights of women across the state.”

Although currently protected by federal law, the Supreme Court’s anti-choice majority is expected to rule as early as this June 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. 

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.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to advance.