SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To proactively fight against attacks on women’s health, state Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, helped pass legislation that he is sponsoring to ensure a women’s right to choose is protected in Illinois if the Supreme Court reverses nearly 50 years of legal precedent.

“The Trump administration has made it clear that they are making attacks on women’s health issues a priority,” Andrade said. “With Trump and other extreme Washington Republicans already confirming a Supreme Court member that is vehemently anti-choice, Row v. Wade is at serious risk of being overturned. The fight to protect a woman’s right to choose is an ongoing battle, and we need to ensure that we protect the progress that we’ve made in the past.”

Andrade is sponsoring and voted to pass House Bill 40, which would repeal Illinois’ “trigger law,” which has been state law since 1975. This out-of-date “trigger law” would automatically make abortion illegal in Illinois should federal courts overturn the constitutionally protected right to choose. The measure would protect Illinois’ women’s access to safe and legal reproductive health care, regardless of what Trump-appointed judges may decide at the federal level.
Recently, Governor Rauner has threatened to veto the legislation, despite indicating previously that he was pro-choice and supportive of a proposal similar to House Bill 40.
“By threatening to veto this bill Governor Rauner is aligning himself with President Trump and his extreme D.C. Republican allies,” Andrade said. “I will continue to advocate for this proposal’s passage in the Senate and urge the governor to come to his senses, live up to the promise that he made to women in Illinois and support this proposal.”