State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, speaks on the Senate floor in favor of her bill to ban authorities in Illinois from aiding another state’s investigation of people coming to the state for reproductive health care. (Peter Hancock / Capitol News Illinois)
SPRINGFIELD — Authorities in Illinois would not be allowed to aid another state’s investigation of people coming to Illinois to seek abortions or other reproductive health care under a bill that cleared the General Assembly Thursday.
House Bill 5239, which needs only a signature from Gov. J.B. Pritzker to become law, also gives individuals the right to sue for civil damages if their information is improperly disclosed.
Further, it gives minors the right to apply for public aid to obtain family planning services without the consent of their parents. And it gives the state exclusive authority to define and regulate “lawful health care activity,” prohibiting local units of government from exercising similar authority.
The bill is one of several responses Illinois lawmakers have passed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade. It came in response to legislative efforts in other states to ban or severely limit access to abortion services.
State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, cited the example of a Texas man who is petitioning a court to find out who allegedly helped his ex-partner obtain an out-of-state abortion.
“They want to overreach in the state of Texas to try to come to other states to tell us what we can or cannot do with our bodies,” Villanueva said.
But Republican state Sen. Jil Tracy, of Quincy, argued that the bill could also be used to help child sex offenders in other states conceal their crimes by bringing their victims to Illinois to obtain secret abortions.
“A minor child could be raped by their stepfather living in Missouri, brought to Illinois, sign up for public aid — we help her get an abortion and pay for it — all the while covering up the acts of her stepfather,” she said.
But Villanueva pointed out the bill allows authorities to cooperate in investigations of activities that would be violations of Illinois law. It also allows them to cooperate in cases when doing so is required under Illinois or federal law.
The bill passed the Senate, 38-19. It passed the House in April by a vote of 72-37. Pritzker has indicated he will sign it.
“As surrounding states enact more and more oppressive restrictions on women’s health, it is essential that Illinois continue to serve as a refuge for those seeking care, including after the procedure when legal inquiry may arise,” Pritzker said in a statement Thursday.
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