By Delfina Jorgensen ’25
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Unsplash user Rishi Kumar.
With Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott creating a new law banning abortions, every state in the country is watching. While Texas is 1,126 miles from Chicago, what’s happening in the Lone Star State might have ramifications in Illinois.
The 1973 Supreme Court Case of Roe v. Wade helped women gain the right to an abortion. Still, every state is able to put its own limitations on it and Texas decided to do just that in September by passing Senate Bill 8. This bill limits many pregnant individuals from obtaining abortion care and allows others to sue healthcare providers that may help someone in acquiring an abortion.
Some citizens of Illinois believe they are protected and not headed in the same direction as Texas. When asked how Illinois’ laws would be impacted by the Texas ban on abortion, Kathy Salinger, a nurse practitioner at Lake Forest College, states, “I truly believe that Illinois is safe because we are a Democratic state, with Gov. Pritzker being a strong advocate for women’s rights.”
Similar to how states can put restrictions and limitations on abortions, states can also protect abortions. In 2019, the Reproductive Health Act was signed by Pritzker and did exactly that. According to the Illinois General Assembly, it ensures every individual has the right to make their own decisions about their reproductive health.
Although Salinger is correct about Pritzker being a strong advocate for women’s rights, President of the Illinois National Organization for Women Laura Welch would disagree with the rest of her statement. Welch says, “It just takes one election. A law is not in the Constitution.
There is no safe place.” Illinois, nor any other state in the country, is clear of future restrictions put on abortion, according to Welch.
“The minute the Gov. (Abbott) signed the bill, calls were coming into the abortion clinics here,” Welch said. With restrictions being placed on abortion in Texas, women began fleeing to Illinois for abortion services. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, from 2016 to 2017 there was a 7 percent increase in people coming from out of the state to receive an abortion. The new law in Texas means more women will be traveling to states like Illinois to receive the care they need.
If nothing is done to bring more attention to the laws in Texas, Illinois could be headed in the same direction. Some people, like Molly Malone, assistant legislative chairman of Illinois Right to Life, are hoping this happens. “Anytime we see legislation passed that protects unborn children, we should be glad about that,” Malone said. She emphasizes the idea that Illinois should follow in Texas’ footsteps by placing more restrictions and limitations on abortion. She feels Illinois citizens should want to be like Texas and “see abortion throughout the country be gone.”
Malone isn’t alone in her thinking. There are others like her who are pushing for similar abortion laws in Illinois.
“If something happens where we get a governor and a General Assembly that has a contrary opinion, those laws could also be overturned,” Illinois State Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) said regarding the safety of women’s healthcare in Illinois. She notes that Illinoisans should be aware that it only takes one election for laws in Illinois to change.
On the topic of Roe v. Wade, Moeller states, “Now that we have a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade is also in jeopardy of being overturned.” The fight for reproductive rights in the United States is far from being over, as Malone, Welch, and Moeller all recognize. Although Roe v. Wade made it a right protected under the Constitution, the majority of the Supreme Court can change this.
With Welch and Malone working for two different organizations, both are on the same page when it comes to seeing how Illinois could be headed in the same direction as Texas.
While laws in Illinois help protect women and allow them to receive abortion services legally, these laws are in jeopardy and some experts and legislators encourage Illinois residents to pay close attention to what is happening in Texas, regardless of what they feel is in the best interests of women.
Women don’t need to be in Texas to feel concerned about their reproductive rights. “No place is safe,” as Welch said.
