SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To help make birth control more easily accessible, state Rep. Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, has introduced legislation to allow pharmacists to dispense hormonal birth control pills, rings and patches.

“It is a woman’s right to have easy access to birth control.  Giving pharmacists the authority to dispense birth control under a standing order would give women that may not be able to visit a doctor easier access to contraception,” said Mussman.  

Mussman’s House Bill 274 would expand a pharmacist’s scope of practice to include dispensing oral hormonal contraceptives, rings and patches.

“There are a wide variety of reasons that some women may not be able to visit the doctor regularly, such as family commitments, work, or even lack of transportation,” continued Mussman.  “I believe that it is important to ensure that all women in our state have easy access to contraception.”

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, issued the following statement after the governor signed House Bill 40 into law, allowing Medicaid recipients to use their insurance to cover abortions.

“All women, regardless of race or socio-economic status, should have access to quality and affordable healthcare. House Bill 40 helps ensure equality for women who may not be able to afford their own health insurance and rely on Medicaid for health coverage.

“Additionally, the signing of this law has effectively removed a dangerous ‘trigger law’ provision that would have ended a women’s right to choose in Illinois if Roe v. Wade is overturned on the federal level. We simply cannot and should not go back to a time when abortion was illegal and women died because they could not receive the care they deserved.

“Politicians should not be the ones to tell a woman what they can or cannot do with their body. These are important, personal decisions that she should make with her doctor and her family.

“I thank advocates for their continued work to protect the health rights of women across our state.”

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To ensure that all women have access to vital healthcare coverage, state Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, is sponsoring legislation that would require insurance companies to cover breast cancer screenings done with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

“Far too many women throughout Illinois are not receiving appropriate healthcare due to the high costs,” said Andrade. “If a woman’s initial breast exam shows signs of potential cancer, all precautions should be made to diagnose it as early as possible to ensure that she can start to undergo treatment if she has this illness. No woman should have to put her life on the line because she cannot afford to pay for this diagnostic tool.”

Andrade is sponsoring Senate Bill 314, which would require insurance companies to cover an MRI breast exam if there are signs of cancer. The measure would provide doctors with more of an opportunity to detect cancer in the early stages, ultimately making it easier to treat and save a woman’s life. Andrade’s measure would allow all women to have access to this treatment, including state employees and Medicaid recipients.

“Regardless of income level, every woman should be able to access lifesaving healthcare tools like MRI breast exams,” Andrade said. “If the standard tests are not sufficient to detect cancer, insurance coverage should be available for any additional tests that are required to determine if someone has this life-threatening disease.”

CHICAGO – As funding for women’s health care comes under siege in Washington, State Rep. John D’Amico, D-Chicago, is calling for additional penalties on individuals who damage women’s health clinics or intimidate the patients who seek care from them.

“People should not have to fear receiving healthcare,” D’Amico said. “This legislation is going to send a message that in Illinois we are not going to tolerate people trying to force their personal beliefs onto someone else’s health care.”

D’Amico is sponsoring House Bill 3735, which would increase the penalties for anyone who damages property in a woman’s health clinic, intimidates the patients attending the clinic, or intimidates the staff who perform the services at the clinic. House Bill 3735 would go against a recent trend of legislation implemented in other states, and at the federal level, that have weakened women’s health clinic protections for patients and medical professionals. Most notably, the Supreme Court in 2014 struck down a Massachusetts law allowing a 35-foot buffer between protestors and a women’s health clinic, allowing patient’s safe passage.

“Washington may continue to pass laws that will make it more difficult for women’s health clinics to operate,” D’Amico continued. “That is why we need to do everything we can at the state level to protect these health centers, fund them, and give patients and staff the peace of mind that they can operate safely.”

House Bill 3735 recently passed out of the Judiciary Criminal Committee and now goes to the full House for approval.

CHICAGO – State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, is sponsoring legislation that would expand women’s access to comprehensive health care by allowing pharmacists to prescribe contraceptive medicine.

“There is a great deal of uncertainty among women across the country because the president is attempting to restrict women’s health care choices,” said Harper. “Limiting and restricting access to health care can have serious consequences, which this legislation would help prevent.”

Harper is supporting House Bill 274, which would allow pharmacists to prescribe hormonal contraceptives that can be taken orally or through a patch. It would help low-income women who would not have adequate time or funds to visit a doctor to still get a prescription. According to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting reproductive health rights, unintended pregnancy rates are highest among low-income women who rely on non-hormonal contraceptive measures. Harper believes that by allowing pharmacists to prescribe these services to women in need the rate of unwanted or unintended pregnancies could decrease due to the increase of access to the medication.

“Many people in my district do not have the financial resources to visit a doctor regularly,” said Harper. “By allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control it will be more accessible to women who cannot visit a doctor to receive the prescription. This would give more women the ability to make their own healthcare decisions and could reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies.”

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

“Given the Trump administration’s record on women’s health issues, I think it’s important that we work now to ensure that women in Illinois are protected from changes in the law,” Andrade said. “When you look at the nominee that Trump has put forth for the Supreme Court, it’s clear that not only is women’s health not a priority, but that he is prioritizing the restriction of a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.”

Illinois is currently one of four states with a “trigger” law that would make abortion in Illinois illegal if Roe v. Wade was overturned. In response, Andrade is supporting House Bill 40, which would change state law to ensure that if the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision is overturned, women would continue to have the right to choose in Illinois.

“Organizations like Planned Parenthood have been fighting for women’s rights to make their own health care decisions for decades, and we cannot let the progress they have made in Illinois be undone,” Andrade said. “This proposal protects the right to choose for women in Illinois, regardless of the anti-choice stances of judges being appointed by the Trump administration.”