Despite strongly hinting that the General Assembly would hold a special session on abortion in July, Governor JB Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon, and House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch issued a joint statement saying in part that they plan to hold a special session later in the year.
In June, the Governor called for a special session following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Speculation had centered on the week of July 4 – 8, but the Governor and chamber leaders issued their statement on July 5, putting off any such special session for now. They said in their release that, “We plan to work closely together for the remainder of the summer to assess every possibility of what we can do and convene a special session in the coming months.”
This is despite the fact that Illinois already has strong protections in place for abortion, allowing people to obtain an abortion for any reason, at any time during a pregnancy, and the procedures can be paid for with taxpayer funds. Pritzker also recently signed legislation into law that removed the requirement for parents to be notified before their minor child receives an abortion.