Governor should sign abortion rights bill

I am writing to express my hope that Gov. Rauner reconsiders his position and signs Illinois HB 40 into law. Now more than ever, women's reproductive health is under attack.

HB40 repeals a trigger provision in the 1975 Illinois abortion law that states if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned or modified by the Supreme Court of the United States, Illinois will revert back to its pre-Roe law that made abortion an illegal criminal act. The removal of this trigger ensures that women's healthcare decisions will be protected in Illinois regardless of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Additionally this bill allows women covered by Medicaid and the State Employees Health Insurance plan to have coverage for abortion care.

Gov. Rauner, you are on record as saying in an answer submitted to Personal PAC: "I dislike the Illinois law that restricts abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan and state employees' health insurance because I believe it unfairly restricts access based on income." What happened?

It is frustrating to me that access to health care and a woman's right to choose is treated cavalierly by our politicians for their own political gain. I encourage you to sign this bill and perhaps work together with all stakeholders to find ways to make preventive health, access to birth control and health education affordable and accessible so that in the future, all woman have access to safe abortion procedures but that they become exceedingly rare.

Ann Greenstein

Arlington Heights