Editorial: In Trump Era, Keep Abortion Safe and Legal in Illinois
That archaic provision, if triggered, would tremendously diminish the rights of women in Illinois.
The 1975 law also includes a declaration that “the unborn child is a human being from the time of conception” and has “a right to life.” The proposed bill would eliminate those clauses and retain language that says Illinois adheres to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which prohibited states from banning abortion.
The High Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade has been under attack by conservative state legislatures since the day the decision came down, but increasingly so in the last decade. Congressional Republicans have made repeated attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit that provides reproductive health services, including abortions.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly said he was pro-life. At one point, he said women who undergo abortions should be punished, a remark he walked back. Days after being elected, Trump repeated his anti-abortion stand on the news program “60 Minutes” and said he would appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court.
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