Canty Bill Creating Abortion Access Fund Passes House

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, helped advance legislation out of the House chamber last Thursday to create the Abortion Access Fund Grant Program, expanding support and access to abortion care services for uninsured or underinsured patients in Illinois.

“Guaranteeing the right to a safe and affordable abortion is an essential piece of comprehensive healthcare and foundational when protecting bodily autonomy,” Canty said. “While other states are working to curtail this right, Illinois is fighting even harder to maintain it. The Abortion Access Fund Grant Program is going to provide abortion services to thousands of women who otherwise may not have had that choice.”

House Bill 5408 creates the Abortion Access Fund Grant Program, funded through existing mandates under the Affordable Care Act, and requires insurers to collect funds for the purposes of providing legal reproductive care, specifically abortions. These funds typically sit unused. Canty’s bill would redirect unused funds back to Illinois where they could then be used at the discretion of the Illinois Department of Public Health to assist underinsured or uninsured Illinois women and patients with abortion care.

“The situation isn’t complex. If you’re for preserving the right to choose, you’re for health and personal freedom. If you want to take that choice away, you’re fighting to create medical hazards and turn doctors into criminals,” Canty said. “Passing this bill represents progress and we’re far from finished.”

House Bill 5408 passed the House and now awaits Senate consideration.