On June 24, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the decisions that legalized abortion in the United States, which means the question of abortion has now been returned to state governments.
These federal rulings will have little impact in Illinois because Democratic legislative leaders have taken several steps in recent years to make sure abortion remains legal in the state. Illinois already has some of the most extreme laws in the nation that allow for abortions in all nine months for any reason. Last fall, majority party leaders eliminated the requirement that parents be notified if their minor child receives an abortion, even though more than 70 percent of Illinoisans supported the parental right of notification requirement. Such measures extend well beyond what mainstream Illinoisans support.
Gov. Pritzker held a press conference June 24 featuring Democratic leaders and other pro-abortion lawmakers, calling for a special session in July to pass further, and likely more-extreme pro-abortion legislation.
Senator Rezin says the General Assembly should indeed be returning to the Capitol, but for the purpose of providing relief for Illinois families struggling to pay their bills, not to pass further extreme abortion-related bills. She says the Governor and his legislative allies are trying to distract from tough issues currently affecting Illinois families, such as historically high inflation rates, and significant price spikes for gasoline, groceries, and electricity.