abortion

A small gathering of anti-abortion activists prayed in the Illinois Capitol Building Wednesday. It comes as lawmakers are considering whether to further relax the state’s abortion laws.

A little more than two-dozen people gathered to pray and sing with a Roman Catholic priest.

The Rev. Edward Ohm, based in Lincoln, said they were showing sorrow and regret for recent actions of the legislature — particularly this year’s new law protecting and expanding abortion rights.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois has announced it will stop accepting federal funds because of a new Trump administration rule barring family planning clinics from referring women for abortions.

The administration notified clinics Monday that in addition to immediately enforcing new regulations prohibiting federally funded clinics from making abortion referrals, abortions the clinics perform must be financially separate from services supported by the grant dollars.

The Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield has banned the Illinois General Assembly's leaders from receiving Holy Communion at local churches because of their involvement in abortion legislation approved last week.

Bishop Thomas John Paprocki issued a statement Thursday barring House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton from receiving the sacrament. He says any Catholic lawmaker who voted for statutory protection for abortion right in Illinois is prohibited.

After a long and unusually emotional debate in the Illinois House Tuesday, lawmakers approved legislation aimed at keeping abortion legal in Illinois, regardless of what happens in other states or Washington, D.C.

The legislation would repeal laws that, while not currently enforced, could go back into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Late Sunday night, Illinois Democrats advanced legislation meant to protect abortion rights in case Roe v. Wade is overturned.

It would require insurance companies to cover abortions as part of pregnancy-related care and prevent abortion providers from being criminally charged, including for late-term abortions when medically necessary.

Sponsoring state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat from Chicago, said it’s about trusting women and their doctors to make the best choice for their health and lifestyle.

Illinois gubernatorial candidates will soon receive a written pledge in the mail asking them to support the new law expanding abortion coverage — and oppose any push to repeal it.

After Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a law providing abortion coverage under state health insurance and Medicaid, some — like state Rep. Jeanne Ives who ran against him on the GOP ticket in the primary — said it showed Rauner’s position on the issue is too liberal. According to Ives, the governor's decision encouraged her to run as his opponent. 

Commentary: Insights from the 2018 primary election

"Is this embattled Republican governor toast?" -- Natasha Korecki, Politico

"Is Gov. Bruce Rauner a lame duck limping?" -- Chuck Sweeny, Rockford Register Star

Anti-abortion advocates made their initial appearance in a Springfield courtroom yesterday.

They’re challenging a new Illinois law that will allow state money to pay for some abortions. It applies to women who have health insurance through state employment, as well as those on the Medicaid program. Lawyer Peter Breen says their case is about how state tax money is spent — not whether abortion is right or wrong.

A measure that would allow taxpayer funding for abortions was sent to Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk today, and supporters want him to declare his support publicly before taking any further steps. 

In Rockford to visit a charter school Monday, Rauner again declined to reveal his specific position on the bill.

“There are passionate voices,” he said, “and I respect, frankly, both sides of the arguments. I am personally pro-choice, but I respect the moral arguments and the debate on the other side, and I am listening and we will make a decision in the near future."

A federal judge has ruled an Illinois law requiring hospital and medical clinic professionals to tell pregnant women about all their available options, including abortion, can't be enforced.

The Chicago Tribune reports U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Kapala  says that, until litigation is settled, the law shouldn't be enforced.

The Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit in March, targeting a provision added to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act last year that requires physicians to discuss all medical options available to patients.

A controversial measure approved Wednesday in the Illinois Senate would expand government funding of abortion to include state employees and lower-income women on government health plans.

It also would repeal a so-called “trigger” in state law which Democrats argue could automatically outlaw abortion should the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision ever be overturned.

Many Republicans found the expanded funding particularly objectionable.

A Democratic lawmaker pushing legislation to remove prohibitions on publicly funded abortions in Illinois hopes to call it for a vote as thousands of women converge on the capital to lobby for a "progressive agenda."

Chicago Rep. Sara Feigenholtz's measure would lift restrictions on abortions funded by Medicaid or state employee health insurance.

She says the legislation also is important because it ensures abortion remains on the books in Illinois if the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion is overturned.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says he no longer supports expanding abortion coverage for state workers and Medicaid recipients because it's too controversial, and Illinois needs to focus on other issues such as creating jobs.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is opposing legislation that would allow the state to cover abortions for its employees and Medicaid recipients.

Eleni Demertzis is Rauner's spokeswoman. She said Friday the governor is committed to protecting women's rights under current law but recognizes the ``sharp divisions of opinion'' on taxpayer-funded abortion coverage.

New legislation would make the most dramatic changes since the 1970s to Illinois law dealing with abortion.

The prime target is a statute enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision, which legalized abortion nationwide. State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) calls it the "trigger" law.

She says the administration of President Donald Trump is responsible for an awakening in women’s rights.

Eighteen Illinois women's health organizations have sued Gov. Bruce Rauner over a law requiring pregnancy centers to tell patients about the benefits of abortion despite conscience-based objections.

Thomas Olp is an attorney for the Thomas More Society, which filed the lawsuit Thursday in Sangamon County.

The measure requiring dispensing of abortion information changed a 1977 law allowing health care professionals to refuse to provide services they consider morally objectionable.

A northern Illinois judge has granted an injunction to health care providers who are suing the state over a law that requires them to provide information or referrals to patients seeking abortions.

Winnebago County Judge Eugene Doherty granted the injunction Tuesday. He says the providers who object to abortion "raised a fair question" about whether the law violates "their right to be free from government compelled speech."

The group filed the lawsuit against the state in August after a state law was amended in July to include the new requirements.

Health-care providers in northern Illinois who object to abortion are asking for a preliminary injunction against a state law that requires them to provide information or referrals to patients seeking the procedure.

a women’s health non-profit, a Rockford medical center and a Downers Grove physician filed a lawsuit against Gov. Bruce Rauner and other state officials in August after the law was amended in July.

Several northern Illinois crisis pregnancy centers are suing the governor over an amendment to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

The provision requires health care providers disseminate information about abortion to women that ask about the procedure, even if they have a "conscience-based objection.”  

A Rockford pregnancy center and Downers Grove doctor are suing to overturn the newly updated Illinois right-of-conscience law.

Right-of-conscience laws come into play when medical providers' obligations to provide treatment conflict with their personal beliefs.

The governor just signed a law updating the Illinois statute.

No doctor is required to perform an abortion, but a physician -- even one with moral or faith-based opposition to the practice -- now is required to refer a patient to a medical professional who will provide the procedure.

A licensed practical nurse is suing the Winnebago County Health Department over allegedly violating her religious conscience.

Wisconsin may ban research on aborted fetal tissue. A bill moving through the legislature would outlaw selling, donating, and experimenting with fetal body parts in Wisconsin. Republican lawmakers behind the measure say it wouldn’t affect current research using existing cell lines.

  The Wisconsin Assembly’s criminal justice committee held a hearing Tuesday: supporters say they hope to have the votes lined up to pass the ban as early as next month.

The Wisconsin State Assembly has passed a bill banning non-emergency abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. 

The Republican-controlled chamber approved the bill 61-34 Thursday. The Senate passed the measure in June. It now goes to Governor Scott Walker, who has said he will sign it into law. 

Under the proposal, doctors who perform a non-emergency abortion after 20 weeks could be punished by up to $10,000 in fines and 3 1/2 years in prison. The bill doesn't provide exceptions for pregnancies resulting from sexual assault or incest.  

Young women in Illinois will need to notify their parents before getting an abortion. The state’s parental notification law was upheld today by the Illinois Supreme Court.