Gong-Gershowitz Votes to Pass Reproductive Health Act

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – In a push back against attacks across the country on reproductive rights, state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, helped to pass the Reproductive Health Act out of the Illinois House. She released the following statement:

“The intent of the Reproductive Health Act is to codify common-law standards developed under Roe v Wade, which reflects the framework we live under now. There has been no shortage of incendiary rhetoric and misinformation disseminated by those who intend to strip women of their rights under Roe v Wade. No woman that I have ever known at any point in my life decides to terminate a healthy pregnancy moments before birth as opponents of choice would have us believe.

“In rare cases where a woman chooses an abortion later in pregnancy it’s because something has gone tragically wrong, and she is faced with a choice that only her and her doctor are qualified to make. Not government. This isn’t about what I believe – it’s about whether women have agency over their own lives to decide what they believe. I trust women to own the self-determination over what happens to their bodies and their lives.

“This isn’t about challenging anyone’s religious convictions. This is about our power to know our own minds, our God, our bodies, our choice. I for one do not need anyone in this room to make it for me. To women who throughout history have been devalued, dismissed and discounted, this is our moment to say that we will not go back.

“Today I was proud to vote yes to protect women’s rights to self-determination over our bodies and our lives.”

Senate Bill 25 passed the House by a vote of 64-50 and now heads to the Senate for consideration.