THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT
Without the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), when Roe is overturned (not if) Illinois could have:
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Lack of insurance coverage for abortion care and birth control
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Mandatory spousal consent for abortion
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24-hour waiting periods
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Bans on assisted reproductive techniques like in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Only passing the RHA will protect women’s reproductive rights in Illinois.
The Reproductive Health Act (RHA) is all that stands between the women of Illinois and anti-choice extremists wanting to ban safe, legal abortion.
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CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR TODAY TO URGE THEM TO PASS THE RHA!
Not Sure What To Say? Here’s A Quick Script.
DIAL YOUR SENATOR NOW!
Not Sure What To Say? Here’s A Quick Script.
“Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME], I live in [YOUR CITY OR ILLINOIS SENATE DISTRICT] I’m calling because I want you to support and vote YES on the Reproductive Health Act.
Extreme politicians are introducing, and right-wing anti-choice people are supporting, unconstitutional bills with one goal - to ban safe, legal abortion.
With the current make-up of the Supreme Court and new threats to safe, legal abortion it is critical that Illinois lead in ensuring reproductive freedom is a reality for ALL Illinois women!
Women’s rights are under attack and we need you to whatever you can to make sure this bill passes. Thank you.”
What’s At Stake For Every Woman In Illinois?
When Roe is overturned this is what women in Illinois could be subject to:
denied
coverage
Private insurance companies will be free to deny coverage for abortion care and birth control, without exceptions.
no
confidentiality
Reporting requirements sought by anti-abortion groups to harass and intimidate patients will be in force.
criminal
penalties
Doctors will face numerous criminal penalties for performing an abortion.
24 hour waiting periods
Abortion will be the ONLY medical procedure with a dangerous and unnecessary mandated waiting period.
misinformed
consent
Doctors will be required to read anti-choice propaganda that has no medical basis, like that abortion causes cancer.
ban assisted reproductive techniques
Such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), and certain forms of prenatal testing.
spousal
consent
Married women will be required to get their husband's consent to get an abortion.
doctor consent committees
Women will have to BEG multiple doctors to gain their approval in order to obtain an abortion.
restrictions on certain forms of birth control
Open Letter to the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Majority:
We the undersigned Illinois women are alarmed by the lack of action in the Illinois House on two measures critical to women’s health care all across Illinois – the Reproductive Health Act and repeal of Illinois’ dangerous Teen Endangerment Law.
There are currently more than twenty cases in the federal court system designed to directly challenge Roe v. Wade, while new, more restrictive laws concerning abortion and birth control are being presented and adopted in other states each week. These cases will be heard by a U.S. Supreme Court with two Donald Trump appointed Justices who, along with Trump and Mike Pence, have made no secret of wanting to oppose Roe. Vice President Mike Pence has promised to send Roe “into the ash heap of history.” President Trump also suggested that doctors who perform abortions would need to be subjected to some form of punishment. We do not want this for doctors and women in Illinois.
Women and the vast pro-choice majority across the state cannot sit idly by and wait to see how these cases sort out, and how our rights are affected in Illinois. We urge the Democrats in the Illinois House to take action in Springfield and protect our reproductive health care choices here in Illinois. The Reproductive Health Act, as an example, removes dangerous laws – long blocked by courts – that make some forms of abortion care and even birth control a criminal act. We believe it is extremely irresponsible to leave enjoined laws, some enjoined based on Roe, on the books in Illinois. These enjoined laws include:
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Spousal Consent
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Bans on assisted reproductive techniques, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), and certain forms of prenatal testing
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Doctor Consent Committees
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Restrictions on certain forms of birth control
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24-Hour Waiting Periods
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Misinformed Consent
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Hospital Requirement and other TRAP laws
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No Confidentiality
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Criminal Penalties
In addition, private insurance companies, that freely cover male performance enhancement drugs and procedures, will be free to deny coverage for birth control and abortion care, even when a woman’s health is threatened or she is a victim of rape or incest.
The Illinois House of Representatives MUST pass the Reproductive Health Act immediately and act with equal urgency when SB 1594 comes from the Senate. We believed Donald Trump in 2016 when he made clear that he was committed to ending abortion rights in the United States. It’s time for the Illinois House of Representatives to also believe him and protect Illinois women in the coming post-Roe era.
Barbara Bluhm-Kaul
Helen Zell
Sheli Rosenberg
Sheila Gutman
H. Gael Neeson
Grace Newton
Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth
Paloma Delgadillo
Michelle Fadeley
Anna Valencia
Eileen Boyce
Jessica M. Scheller
Annie Williams
Carolyn Cochran Kopel
Nikita Richards
Harlene Ellin
Becky Powers
Jaquie Algee
Kate LeFurgy
Becky Carroll
Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg
Michelle Taylor
Esther Patt
Marie Newman
Nikki Budzinski
Rebecca Borges
Lara Sisselman
Leslie Wertheimer
Veronica R. Delgado
Kat Rokhlin
Caroline Wellford
Terri Brax
Elizabeth Schraft
Meg Callahan
Kelly Kleiman
Sue Imrem
Lindsey M. Marcus
Sara Dixon Spivy
Stacey Sherr Michelon
Jean Sampson
Elaine Abramson
Ann Courter
Judith L. Sensibar
Susan Seigle
Gabrielle Sigel
Katherine Hess Tallering
Pamela Crutchfield
Aviva Futorian
Cari Sacks
Marilyn Malkin
Amy Bluhm
Dedrea Gray
Mary Stowell
Deloris Manny
Bari Fradin
Rebecca Vlasic
Amy Small
Michelle McBride
Marilyn Kenig Cohen
Barbara Engel
Nanette Wollack
Sondra Berman Epstein
Nancia Shawver
Meredith George
Diana Maracich
Deborah Franczek
Barbara Kessler
Dorothy Press
Marilyn F. Vitale
Diane M. Henry
Ellie Bahrmasel
Andrea Friedman
Jill F. Levi
Melissa Widen
Sara Fisher
Natalie Federle
Abby McCormick O'Neil
Carole Schecter
Frona Daskal
Jacqueline L. Hirsh
Sheila Nielsen
Inna Elterman
Jacqueline Kaplan-Perkins
Deborah Lissner Brown
Dorothy B. Mayer
Ann Goodman
Katelynd Duncan
Carole Boron
Brittany Graunke
Eileen Dordek
Donna Gutman
Kathleen Garvey
Miriam Klevan
Jackie Bousek
Dana Goldsmith Gordon
Susan Humerick
Liz Lefkofsky
Sally Kovler
Joanne Steinback
Marcena W. Love
Lisa Fleisher
Ethel Gofen
Kathy Taslitz
Phoebe Sacks
Jodi Block
Lottie Bell
Linda Richter
Renata Kukoc
Dana Hughes
Emily Fern
Jamie Weil
Heidi Kirsch
Suzanne Grossinger Gould
Jill Katz
Elise Sacks
Joanne Liberman
Mimi Schapiro
Susan R. Lichtenstein
Trish Rooney
Liz Lund
Rebecca Friedland
Sydnee Greenberg
Amy Topel
Julie Aronson
Jessica Bernstein
Dolores Ochoa
Marcia Balonick
Gail Manning
Ajd Ginsberg
Cyndy Benjamin
Marlene Breslow-Blitstein
Marion Fern
Carol Beitler
Alex Topel
Leslie Jaffe
Lynn Pearl
Jessie Abt
Allison A. Cowett
Emily Sweet
Lisa Belcher
Yumi Ross
Ellen Wineberg
Carole Gutter
Pam Strobel
Joan W. Harris
Kimberly Keywell
Marjorie Benton
Jennifer Abt
K Sujata
Jennifer Diamond
Julie Sacks
Irma Schwartz
Karen Malkin
Susan Bowey
Andrea Grostern
Kathleen LeFurgy
Grace Barter
Mimi Frankel
Nancy Schaefer
Carol Stein
Marilyn Fields
Carol Prins
Sheara Horwich
Elizabeth Lassar
Fay Clayton
Julie Hamos
Laura Tucker
Jamie Schwartz
Dee Beaubien
Elizabeth Wellek
Marci Barth
Melissa Gilliam
Tracy Whitehead
Marian L. Michaels
Janice E. Rodgers
Eileen Rhodes
Nancy Anne Olaimey
Julie Levitz
Kemery Bloom
Sunghee Sohn
Kim Kamin
Lori Kaufman
Susan Bronstein
Elizabeth Massaro
Bonnie Fry Rothman
Carolyn Grisko
Jennifer Lee
Tasha Liberman
Eydie Sternberg
Ellen J. Benjamin
Laura Kofoid