Protecting and Expanding Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care in Illinois
Governor Pritzker has signed into law a monumental bill that protects and expands access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion and gender-affirming care — and supporters like you made it happen! This measure is a milestone in the work to meet the needs of patients in the post-Roe era.
Add your name to the thank-you card for lawmakers and Gov. Pritzker!
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, every state surrounding Illinois has either banned or severely restricted abortion access. With a dramatic increase in patients traveling to Illinois for care, Illinoisans who need abortion are facing increased wait times. The need is especially great in Southern Illinois, where providers have been inundated with patients fleeing their home states in the Midwest and South. House Bill 4664 directly addresses this need by expanding the pool of providers and protecting providers’ licenses from other states who may sanction them for providing abortion.
Many of the same states hostile to abortion are now targeting patients’ access to gender-affirming care. For transgender, non-binary and gender-expansive patients, gender-affirming care is critical and often life-saving. This new law expands access by requiring insurance companies to cover gender-affirming hormone therapy, expanding the pool of providers and protecting providers’ licenses.
This new law creates inclusive sexual and reproductive health care policies that serve all patients — no matter their zip code, income, or identity — and protects the Illinois providers who offer that care in our state.