All insurers in Illinois will now be required to cover induced abortions, thanks to a new bill signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker.
This week, Pritzker held a signing ceremony for the Birth Equity Initiative, which mandates that Illinois-based health insurance, both private and Medicaid, must cover abortion with no co-pays or deductibles. The ceremony came on the heels of neighboring state Iowa’s law protecting nearly all preborn children from abortion taking effect, which lawmakers appeared to present as a reason for the bill’s passage.
“Iowa is now the 22nd state in the nation to enact an extreme abortion ban solidifying that one in three women of reproductive age in America now live without access to comprehensive reproductive care,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said. “The Birth Equity Initiative is Illinois’ way of strengthening protection for the full spectrum of reproductive care. It bolsters our administration’s belief that no government should decide when or if a family grows and ensure that when families do expand, both mom and baby have access to care they need to get home safely.”
Pritzker added:
For too long, we have failed to live up to the promise of equal health care for Black and Brown mothers in the state. That is appalling and it’s unacceptable, and we’re not going to let that happen anymore in the state of Illinois. It isn’t right that some women are forced to weigh their own mortality or their future health against bringing life into this world.
Despite Pritzker’s remarks, Illinois was already one of the most pro-abortion states in the country, with millions in grant money going to Planned Parenthood of Illinois and other abortion organizations to train future abortionists. In May, the state’s Democratic supermajority passed a bill stating that abortion is a stabilizing emergency treatment. In 2021, state lawmakers repealed parental notification for minors’ abortions. In 2019, Pritzker signed an executive order to ensure the enforcement of HB 40, an act passed in 2017 by his predecessor, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner (a Planned Parenthood supporter). HB40 requires the state to provide taxpayer-funded abortion, for any reason, to state employees and Medicaid recipients. The first year HB 40 was instituted, abortions increased nearly 1800% in the state. Pritzker has also worked to make abortion a right in the Illinois constitution. He has likewise supported legislation allowing out-of-state abortionists to commit abortions, while shielding them from legal liability, and allowed free abortions.
