Abortion in Illinois

An 1827 Illinois law prohibited the sale of drugs that could induce abortions.{{Cite news | newspaper = Chicago Tribune | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-illinois-abortion-laws-timeline-htmlstory.html | title = Abortion in Illinois: From outlawed herbs to cutthroat politics

| author1-first = Cindy | author1-last = Dampier | date = 2019-05-29 | access-date = 2022-05-30}} The law classed these medications as a "poison".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97may/abortex.htm|title=When Abortion Was a Crime|website=www.theatlantic.com|access-date=2019-05-22}} The 1827 law was the first in the nation to impose criminal penalties in connection with abortion before quickening.{{Cite journal|last=Buell|first=Samuel|date=1991-01-01|title=Criminal Abortion Revisited|url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2174|journal=New York University Law Review|volume=66|issue=6|pages=1774–1831|pmid=11652642}}

Illinois passed a bill in 1867 that made abortion and attempted abortion a criminal offense.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/whenabortionwasc00reag_0|url-access=registration|title=When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867–1973|last=Reagan|first=Leslie J.|date=1997-01-30|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520922068}} Around 1870, Illinois passed another law banning the sale of drugs that could cause induced abortions. The law is notable because it allowed an exception for "the written prescription of some well-known and respectable practicing physician".

The Chicago Times published an undercover exposé on abortion in the city in 1888. One reporter managed to get a referral for an abortion with the head of the Chicago Medical Society.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/05/abortion-in-american-history/376851/|title=Abortion in American History|last=Pollitt|first=Katha|date=1997-05-01|website=The Atlantic|access-date=2019-05-26}}

In 1956, Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago created an anonymous committee to approve all requests for therapeutic abortions. As a result, the number of therapeutic abortions in 1957 was 3, down from 15 the previous year.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/whenabortionwasc00reag_0|url-access=registration|title=When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867–1973|last=Reagan|first=Leslie J.|date=1998-09-21|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520216570}}

The Jane Collective, an underground collective that assisted women in obtaining safe abortions, was founded in Chicago in 1969. The collective trained its members in abortion care and provided more than 11,000 abortions before disbanding in 1973.

The US Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade meant the state could no longer regulate abortion before the viability of the fetus. In 1975, the 79th General Assembly enacted the Illinois Abortion Law, which included a trigger law that provided that if Roe v. Wade was overturned or repealed, "the former policy of this State to prohibit abortions unless necessary for the preservation of the mother's life shall be reinstated."{{Cite web

| title = 2005 Illinois Code - Chapter 720 Criminal Offenses 720 ILCS 510/ Illinois Abortion Law of 1975.

| url = https://law.justia.com/codes/illinois/2005/chapter53/1928.html

| work = Justia.com

| access-date = 2022-05-30

}}

In 1995, the 89th General Assembly enacted the Parental Notice of Abortion Act, a parental notification law. The Act required physicians to give 48 hours' notice to the parent, grandparent or guardian of a minor seeking an abortion.{{Cite web

| quote = No person shall knowingly perform an abortion upon a minor or upon an incompetent person unless the physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours actual notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person of his or her intention to perform the abortion, unless that person or his or her agent has received a written statement by a referring physician certifying that the referring physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor or incompetent person.

| url = https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2103&ChapterID=59

| title = 750 ILCS 70/ Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.

| publisher = Illinois General Assembly

| work = Illinois Compiled Statutes

}} However, the law was enjoined by the courts for more than two decades.{{Cite web

| url = https://www.aclu-il.org/en/press-releases/aclu-illinois-welcomes-governors-approval-measure-repeal-dangerous-parental-notice

| title = ACLU of Illinois Welcomes Governor's Approval of Measure to Repeal the Dangerous Parental Notice of Abortion Law

| date = 2021-12-17

| access-date = 2022-05-30

| publisher = ACLU of Illinois

}}

A 2013 Guttmacher Institute survey found that Illinois' Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to private doctor offices, in addition to abortion clinics.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2013/06/trap-laws-gain-political-traction-while-abortion-clinics-and-women-they-serve-pay-price|title=TRAP Laws Gain Political Traction While Abortion Clinics—and the Women They Serve—Pay the Price|date=2013-06-27|website=Guttmacher Institute|access-date=2019-05-27}} As of 2013, Illinois was among qualified non-physicians to prescribe drugs for medication abortions only.{{cite web|url=https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/01/13403/study-abortions-are-safe-when-performed-nurse-practitioners-physician-assistants|title=Study: Abortions Are Safe When Performed By Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Nurse Midwives|access-date=2017-01-25}}

In 2013, the Illinois Supreme Court recognized a right to abortion in the Illinois state constitution under the due process clause.{{cite web|url=https://reproductiverights.org/maps/state/illinois/|title=Abortion Laws By State: Illinois|access-date=2024-06-18}}{{cite web|url=https://www.isba.org/barnews/2013/07/11/illinois-supreme-court-upholds-parental-notice-abortion-act-1995|title=Illinois Supreme Court upholds Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995|access-date=2024-06-18}}

In 2017, the 100th General Assembly repealed the trigger law component of the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, but left many of its other provisions intact. In the same act, the General Assembly provided for abortion to be covered under Medicaid and state employee health insurance. The bill was signed into law by pro-choice Republican governor Bruce Rauner.{{Cite news

| title = Rauner Signs Controversial 'Abortion Bill'

| author-first = Amanda

| author-last = Vinicky

| publisher = WTTW

| url = https://news.wttw.com/2017/09/28/rauner-signs-controversial-abortion-bill

| date = 2017-09-28

| access-date = 2022-05-29

}}

Until June 12, 2019,{{Cite web

| url = https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=25&GAID=15&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=114175&SessionID=108&GA=101

| access-date = 2022-06-28

| title = Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB0025

| quote = 6/12/2019 {{!}} Senate {{!}} Public Act {{!}} 101-0013

}} under the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, state law banned abortions after 12 weeks.{{Cite web |last=Harrington |first=Adam |date=30 June 2023 |title=Where Illinois and nearby states' abortion laws stand one year after Roe vs. Wade was overturned |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-abortion-lawsone-year-roe-vs-wade-overturned/ |access-date=16 October 2024 |website=CBS News}} The state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28, based on the standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling, not because of legislative action.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/abortion-laws-states.html|title=Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year|last=Lai|first=K. K. Rebecca|date=2019-05-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-24|issn=0362-4331}}

State legislators had introduced a bill in February 2019 to make abortion a right and to remove the 12-week ban from the books.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/101/HB/10100HB2495.htm|title=HB2495 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY|website=www.ilga.gov|access-date=2019-05-25}} In May 2019 the bill's sponsors demanded action to move this bill ahead, after Alabama and Georgia's state governments passed laws all but restricting abortions.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20190515/there-is-a-war-against-womens-rights-illinois-democrats-urge-action-to-preserve-abortion-access|title='There is a war against women's rights': Illinois Democrats urge action to preserve abortion access|last=Anzel|first=Rebecca|date=2019-05-15|website=Daily Herald|access-date=2022-06-28}} On May 31, 2019, Illinois became the eleventh state to pass bills protecting abortion rights in the state in response to anti-abortion legislation being passed elsewhere. The bills, pushed through by the Democratic-controlled House and Senate and known as the Illinois Reproductive Health Act, provided statutory protections for abortions, and rescinded previous legislation that banned some late-term abortions and a 45-year-old law that had made performing such abortions a criminal offense. After the bill passed, Governor Pritzker was on the Illinois Senate floor, hugging and congratulating abortion-rights supporters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/01/illinois-lawmakers-adopt-new-marijuana-abortion-laws/1310451001/|title=Illinois lawmakers rush to finish big to-do list, including new marijuana, abortion laws|website=USA TODAY|language=en|access-date=2019-06-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/5bb3a6dd970b4e42a70411ae5b92dc04|title=Illinois may expand abortion rights as other states restrict|last=O'connor|first=John|date=2019-05-29|website=AP NEWS|access-date=2019-06-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/5/28/18642682/abortion-illinois-house-reproductive-health-act-roe-wade|title=After emotional debate, Illinois House OKs abortion-rights measure|last=Sfondeles|first=Tina|date=2019-05-28|website=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=2019-06-02}} The Illinois Reproductive Health Act says that women have the "fundamental right" to access abortion services, and that a "fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights".{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/01/politics/illinois-nevada-abortion-protections-bill/index.html|title=Illinois and Nevada approve abortion rights bills that remove long-standing criminal penalties|author=Veronica Stracqualursi and Chris Boyette|website=CNN|date=June 2019|access-date=2019-06-02}} Pritzker signed the bill into law on June 12, 2019.

In fall 2021, the General Assembly passed a bill to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act.{{Cite news | publisher = St. Louis Public Radio | date = 2021-11-02 | title=Teens seeking abortions in Illinois won't need parental notification in 2022 |url=https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2021-11-02/teens-seeking-abortions-in-illinois-wont-need-parental-notification-in-2022}} Governor Pritzker signed it into law on December 17, 2021. Thus, as of June 1, 2022, Illinois does not require a minor to notify a parent or guardian in order to obtain an abortion.{{Cite web | publisher = ACLU of Illinois | url = https://www.aclu-il.org/en/legislation/hb-370-youth-health-and-safety-act | title = HB 370: Youth Health and Safety Act | date=2021-10-26 | access-date = 2022-05-30}}

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, {{ussc|597||2022|docket=19-1392}} later in 2022.{{cite web |url = https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html |title = Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade |first = Ariane |last = de Vogue |date=2022-06-24 |access-date=June 24, 2022 |work = CNN |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220624141808/https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/dobbs-mississippi-supreme-court-abortion-roe-wade/index.html |url-status = live}}{{cite news |last1 = Howe |first1 = Amy |title = Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion |url = https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-constitutional-right-to-abortion/ |work = SCOTUSblog |date=June 24, 2022 |access-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-date=June 24, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220624142633/https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-constitutional-right-to-abortion/ |url-status = live}}

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Illinois became an abortion access state for people in the South and Midwest impacted by abortion bans in their states, with 30% of abortions going to out of state residents. Abortions in Illinois increased by over 45% in the year following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, primarily due to patients traveling from states with abortion bans.{{cite web|url=https://www.stlpr.org/health-science-environment/2023-11-28/abortions-shoot-up-in-illinois-as-more-states-ban-procedure|title=Abortions shoot up in Illinois as more states ban procedure|date=2023-11-28|access-date=2024-02-24}}{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/illinois-florida-california-largest-increase-abortions-15-months/story?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dhfacebook&utm_content=null&id=107651669&fbclid=IwAR2Z7WplVx2fj4yiD8sQbKQEsR4Yd0wm6-6yrZ2WCDBr43wGenPsu9aCjLQ |title=Illinois, Florida, California saw largest increase in abortions in first 15 months after overturn of Roe v. Wade|website=ABC News |access-date=2024-02-29}} By 2023, Illinois saw more out-of-state abortions than any other state, a 71% increase from 2020 to 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/abortions-rose-roe-overturned-why-rcna181094|title=Why abortions rose after Roe was overturned|website=NBC News |access-date=2024-11-26}}

File:Number of abortion clinics in Illinois by year.png

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by 11, going from 58 in 1982 to 47 in 1992.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDqXplZptaIC|title=A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights|last1=Arndorfer|first1=Elizabeth|last2=Michael|first2=Jodi|last3=Moskowitz|first3=Laura|last4=Grant|first4=Juli A.|last5=Siebel|first5=Liza|date=December 1998|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=9780788174810}} In 2014, there were 24 abortion clinics in the state.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-abortion-clinics-are-in-america-each-state-2017-2|title=The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state|last=Gould|first=Rebecca Harrington, Skye|website=Business Insider|access-date=2019-05-23}} 92% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 40% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|title=This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell|author1=Panetta, Grace |author2=lee, Samantha|date=2018-08-04|website=Business Insider|language=es|access-date=2019-05-24|archive-date=2019-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524083342/https://www.businessinsider.es/abortion-access-in-america-maps-charts-if-roe-falls-2018-8|url-status=dead}} In 2017, there were 17 Planned Parenthood clinics, 11 of which offered abortion services in a state with a population of 3,003,374 women aged 15–49.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-planned-parenthood-locations-states/|title=Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood|access-date=2019-05-23}} Following the announcement in late-May 2019 that the last remaining abortion clinic in the state of Missouri would likely close because it was unable to meet new state licensing rules, abortion clinics in Illinois prepared for an influx of new patients by hiring additional staff and increasing their opening hours. Hope Clinic in Granite City was one of the clinics most likely to be impacted because of its location relative to St. Louis, Missouri.{{Cite web|url=https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=728566814|title=Text-Only NPR.org: As Missouri's Last Abortion Provider Nears Closing, Neighboring Clinics Prepare|website=text.npr.org|access-date=2019-06-02}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/31/missouri-abortion-clinic-closure-threat-granite-city-illinois-influx|title=Threat to Missouri abortion clinic leaves neighboring providers scrambling|last=Lutz|first=Eric|date=2019-06-01|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-06-02|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

In the period between 1972 and 1974, the state had an illegal abortion mortality rate per million women aged 15–44 of between 0.1 and 0.9.{{Cite journal|last1=Cates|first1=Willard|last2=Rochat|first2=Roger|date=March 1976|title=Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974|journal=Family Planning Perspectives|volume=8|issue=2|pages=86–92|doi=10.2307/2133995|jstor=2133995|pmid=1269687}} In 1990, 1,402,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy. In 2014, 56% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal vs. 41% that believe it should be illegal in all or most cases.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/views-about-abortion/by/state/#views-about-abortion|title=Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics |work=Pew Research Center|access-date=June 27, 2022}} In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/states-pushing-abortion-bans-have-higher-infant-mortality-rates-n1008481|title=States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates|website=NBC News|access-date=2019-05-25}}

[[File:State_abortion_funding.svg|thumb|State Medicaid coverage of medically necessary abortion services.{{legend|#000099|Medicaid covers medically necessary abortion for low-income women through legislation}}{{legend|#0066ff|Medicaid covers medically necessary abortions for low-income women under court order}}

{{legend|#c9c9c9|Medicaid denies abortion coverage for low-income women except for cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.}}]]

Seventeen states including Illinois used their own funds to cover all or most "medically necessary" abortions sought by low-income women under Medicaid, thirteen of which are required by State court orders to do so.{{cite web|url=http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm|title=Frequently Asked Questions|author=Francis Roberta W.|work=Equal Rights Amendment|publisher=Alice Paul Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417234051/http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm|archive-date=2009-04-17|url-status=dead|access-date=2009-09-13}} In 2010, the state had 371 publicly funded abortions, of which were 237 federally and 134 were state funded.{{Cite web|url=https://data.guttmacher.org/states/table?state=AL+AK+AZ+AR+CA+CO+CT+DE+DC+FL+GA+HI+ID+IL+IN+IA+KS+KY+LA+ME+MD+MA+MI+MN+MS+MO+MT+NE+NV+NH+NJ+NM+NY+NC+ND+OH+OK+OR+PA+RI+SC+SD+TN+TX+UT+VT+VA+WA+WV+WI+WY&topics=62&dataset=data|title=Guttmacher Data Center|website=data.guttmacher.org|access-date=2019-05-24}}

Between 1974 and May 2019, there was a law that said that anyone who performed a late term abortion could be charged criminally with that offense. No one was ever charged with violating that law.

The Jane Collective, which began as the Abortion Counseling Service of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, was established by Chicago-area feminists as a way to try to provide local women with safe and affordable illegal abortions during the late 1960s and early 1970s. According to Laura Kaplan who wrote a history of the group, members assisted women in having 11,000 safe abortions.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/23/health/abortion-history-in-united-states/index.html|title=The surprising history of abortion in the U.S.|author=Jessica Ravitz|website=CNN|date=2016-06-23|access-date=2019-05-23}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/timeline-the-200-year-fight-for-abortion-access.html|title=Timeline: The 200-Year Fight for Abortion Access|last=Larson|first=Jordan|website=The Cut|access-date=2019-05-25}} Another estimate put the total abortions assisted by the group as 12,000 between 1969 and 1973.

The Chicago Abortion Fund was established in 1985, which assists low-income people in obtaining abortions.{{Cite news

| magazine = New Yorker

| title = How Illinois Became an Abortion-Rights Haven

| author-first = Peter

| author-last = Slevin

| date = 2019-07-22

| access-date = 2022-05-30

| url = https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/how-illinois-became-an-abortion-rights-haven

}} In 1994, Mary Morten became board chair and recruited Toni Bond as CEO. Both women were African American, which at the time was unique among the leadership of pro-choice organizations in Illinois.{{Cite book

| title = Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice

| author1-first = Jael

| author1-last = Silliman

| author2-first = Marlene

| author2-last = Gerber Fried

| author3-first = Loretta

| author3-last = Ross

| author4-first = Elena

| author4-last = Gutiérrez

| publisher = Haymarket Books

| year = 2016

| isbn = 9781608466641

| page = 94

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k50fDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA94

}}

File:Chicago Women's March (32341871481).jpg

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services was before the US Supreme Court in 1989. The Court ruled in a case over a Missouri law that banned abortions being performed in public buildings unless there was a need to save the life of the mother, required physicians to determine if a fetus was past 20 weeks and was viable in addition to other restrictions on a woman's ability to get an abortion. The US Supreme Court largely ruled in favor of the law, but made clear that this was not an overruling of Roe v. Wade.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/other/timeline-important-reproductive-freedom-cases-decided-supreme-court|title=Timeline of Important Reproductive Freedom Cases Decided by the Supreme Court|website=American Civil Liberties Union|language=en|access-date=2019-05-25}} As a response to this Supreme Court decision, the radical feminist art collective Sister Serpents was formed in Chicago to empower women and to increase awareness of women's issues through radical art.{{Cite news|title=SisterSerpents: A Radical Feminist Art Collective|last=Margolin|first=Victor|date=1992|work=AIGA Journal of Graphic Design|issue=2|volume=10}}{{Cite news|title=Hissing with anger: SisterSerpents exhibit art|last=George|first=Erika|date=March 12, 1991|work=The Chicago Maroon}}

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/21/abortion-laws-stopthebans-rallies-set-across-nation-today/3750913002/|title=Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation|last=Bacon|first=John|website=USA TODAY|access-date=2019-05-25}} Many women in Chicago wore red, referencing women in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fox5ny.com/news/stopthebans-thousands-protest-restrictive-abortion-legislation-at-events-nationwide|title=Thousands protest restrictive abortion legislation at #StopTheBans events nationwide|last=FOX|website=WNYW|date=2019-05-21|access-date=2019-05-25}}

Following the leak of the overturn of Roe v. Wade on May 2, 2022, Illinois saw protests in Bloomington,{{Cite web|url=https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/rally-for-abortion-rights-held-in-mclean-county/|title=Rally for abortion rights held in McLean County|last=Hurtig|first=Sheridan|website=CIProud.com|date=2022-05-03|access-date=2024-02-24}} Chicago,{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2022/05/03/abortion-protests-in-illinois/|title=Abortion protests in Illinois|website=Chicago Tribune|date=2022-05-03|access-date=2024-02-24}} Peoria,{{Cite web|url=https://www.pjstar.com/picture-gallery/news/2022/05/08/abortion-rights-protesters-rally-university-and-main-peoria/9691130002/|title=Abortion rights protesters rally at University and Main in Peoria|website=Journal Star|date=2022-05-08|access-date=2024-02-24}} Rockford,{{Cite web|url=https://www.wifr.com/2022/05/04/abortion-rights-activists-rally-rockford/|title=Abortion-rights advocates rally in Rockford|website=WIFR.com|date=2022-05-03|access-date=2024-02-24}} and Springfield.{{Cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/protestors-gather-outside-federal-courthouse-002047618.html|title=Protesters gather outside the federal courthouse in Springfield to support abortion access|website=Yahoo! Finance|date=2022-05-04|access-date=2024-02-24}} On May 7, more than 1,000 abortion-rights protesters met and marched in downtown Chicago. Governor J. B. Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton spoke to the crowd in Federal Plaza.{{Cite web|url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/5/7/23061492/chicago-abortion-rights-rally-roe-wade-decision-draft|title=Chicago protesters flood downtown in support of abortion rights with Roe v. Wade in the balance|website=Chicago Sun Times|date=2022-05-07|access-date=2024-02-24}} On May 14, thousands of abortion rights protesters, and a group of anti-abortion activists, met and marched in Union Park and Beverly in Chicago.{{Cite web|url=https://abc7chicago.com/abortion-rally-chicago-union-park-laws-supreme-court-roe-v-wade/11849029/|title=Chicagoans march for abortion rights amid US Supreme Court leak|website=ABC 7|date=2022-05-14|access-date=2024-02-24}} On May 20, a majority of students at Lake Forest High School in Lake Forest walked out in protest of the leaked draft Supreme Court decision.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2022/05/20/lake-forest-high-students-protest-in-favor-of-abortion-rights-we-uphold-the-constitutional-rights-of-our-students/|title=Lake Forest High students protest in favor of abortion rights; 'We uphold the constitutional rights of our students'|website=Chicago Tribune|date=2022-05-20|access-date=2024-02-24}}

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, Illinois saw a protest in Chicago on June 24 with ABC 7 News counting thousands marching to Grant Park, and a few dozen anti-abortion activists in Federal Plaza. Among those in attendance included Governor J. B. Pritzker.{{Cite news |title=Thousands March to Grant Park in Abortion Rights Protest |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/protest-ensues-at-federal-plaza-after-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/2865837/ |publisher=NBC 5 Chicago |access-date=February 24, 2024 |date=June 24, 2022}} Additional protests and marches were held in downtown Chicago the following day.{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Tre |title=Chicago rally: Abortion rights supporters gather for 2nd day following ruling overturning Roe v. Wade |url=https://abc7chicago.com/abortion-protest-chicago-roe-v-wade-rally/11995529/ |publisher=ABC 7 Chicago |access-date=June 26, 2022 |date=June 25, 2022}} Another protest was held in downtown Naperville; ABC 7 News counted several hundred protesters.{{Cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Tre |last2=Cauguiran |first2=Cate |title=Chicago abortion rights protest in Federal Plaza, Naperville draw thousands |url=https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-abortion-protest-roe-v-wade-near-me-federal-plaza/11993602/ |website=ABC 7 Chicago |access-date=June 26, 2022 |date=June 24, 2022}} On June 26, a group of abortion rights protesters disrupted a Catholic Mass in Old Town, Chicago.{{Cite web |last1=Lowe |first1=Mary |title=No Peaceful Mass in the Anti-Abortion Church |url=https://rampantmag.com/2022/08/no-peaceful-mass-in-the-anti-abortion-church/|website=Rampant |access-date=April 9, 2023 |date=August 1, 2022}} On July 9, hundreds of abortion rights protesters and anti-abortion protesters clashed in Chicago's Federal Plaza and marched downtown.{{Cite web |last1=Yin |first1=Alice |title=Activists for and against abortion rights stage dueling protests in downtown Chicago: 'Two weeks ago, a hammer came down on us'|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-abortion-rights-opponents-march-loop-protest-20220709-xmy2ykhngjenta33hdhbbnsm2m-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=August 22, 2022 |date=July 9, 2022}}

In Chicago on April 9, 2023, Easter Sunday, a group of abortion rights protesters dressed as handmaids protested outside of Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago.{{Cite news |title=Issuing the outrageous order to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone on Good Friday was a provocation|url=https://twitter.com/Riseup4abortio2/status/1645180878220345346|access-date=April 9, 2023 |date=April 9, 2023}} On June 24, 2023, the one year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, an abortion rights protest was held in Chicago outside of Federal Plaza.{{Cite web |last1=Sanders |first1=Hank|last2=Smith |first2=Jenna|title=1-year anniversary of the end of Roe v. Wade brings dueling protests downtown|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-roe-anniversary-abortion-rallies-chicago-20230624-eokzbicuy5d3xauvhb2iowaqiu-story.html|website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=June 24, 2023 |date=June 24, 2023}} In Chicago on July 15 and September 28, 2023, dozens of abortion rights protesters rallied against "crisis pregnancy centers".{{Cite news |last=Savchenko |first=Anna |title=At Chicago rally, abortion-rights groups urge action against 'crisis pregnancy centers' accused of misleading patients about abortion|url=https://www.wbez.org/stories/abortion-rights-activists-target-crisis-pregnancy-centers-accused-of-deception/6102b9ed-4c95-404b-b338-934403b23b24|access-date=July 16, 2023 |date=July 15, 2023}}{{Cite news |last=Tinkey |first=Molly |title=Battle for Choice: DePaul students protest what they call 'secret anti-abortion' clinics, in person and on social media|url=https://depauliaonline.com/65872/focus/battle-for-choice-depaul-students-protest-what-they-call-secret-anti-abortion-clinics-in-person-and-on-social-media/|access-date=October 9, 2023 |date=October 1, 2023}} In Evanston, Illinois on October 15, 2023, an abortion rights protest and march was held.{{Cite news |last=Sandy |first=Micah |title=Captured: Evanston's 2023 Pro-Choice Rally and March|url=https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/10/16/lateststories/captured-evanstons-2023-pro-choice-rally-and-march/|access-date=September 21, 2024 |date=October 16, 2023}} In McHenry, Illinois on October 28, 2023, a group of abortion rights protesters rallied against "crisis pregnancy centers".{{Cite news |last=Meyer |first=Michelle |title=Abortion rights groups protest crisis pregnancy center in McHenry|url=https://www.shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/2023/10/28/abortion-rights-groups-protest-crisis-pregnancy-center-in-mchenry/|access-date=October 30, 2023 |date=October 30, 2023}}

In Chicago on March 26, 2024, a group of abortion rights protesters rallied outside the federal courthouse downtown in support of preserving access to mifepristone.{{Cite news |last=Wall |first=Craig |title=Protesters rally around Chicago area amid Supreme Court oral arguments on abortion pill access|url=https://abc7chicago.com/supreme-court-abortion-pill-case-justices-mifepristone-us/14574125/|access-date=March 31, 2024 |date=March 26, 2024}} In Chicago on August 18, 2024, hundreds of protesters rallied and marched for abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, and a ceasefire to the Gaza war outside of the Democratic National Convention.{{Cite news |last=Perez |first=Adriana |title=Pro-abortion rights and LGBTQ+ protesters rally ahead of the start of the DNC|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/08/18/abortion-lgbtq-protest-chicago/|access-date=August 25, 2024 |date=August 18, 2024}}{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Ross |title=Harris, DNC to face thousands of protesters ready to push their demands|url=https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/08/19/harris-dnc-to-face-thousands-of-protesters-ready-to-push-their-demands/|access-date=August 25, 2024 |date=August 19, 2024}} In Chicago on September 26, 2024, a group of abortion rights protesters rallied outside of an anti-abortion banquet benefiting "crisis pregnancy centers".{{Cite news |last=Cashman |first=Lily |title=Students for Reproductive Justice Joins Protestors Against Anti-abortion Clinics|url=https://loyolaphoenix.com/2024/10/students-for-reproductive-justice-joins-protestors-against-anti-abortion-clinics/|access-date=November 5, 2024 |date=October 2, 2024}} In Chicago on November 6, 2024, hundreds attended an anti-Trump rally.{{Cite news |last=Rahman |first=Khaleda |title=Donald Trump Protests Break Out in Several Cities: 'Fascist Clown'|url=https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-protests-cities-1981841|access-date=November 10, 2024 |date=November 7, 2024}}

Hundreds of people attended anti-Trump rallies in Chicago on January 20 and 25, 2025.{{Cite news |last=Issa |first=Nader |title=Chicagoans brave frigid cold to protest Trump inauguration. ‘This is not our first rodeo.’|url=https://www.wbez.org/politics/2025/01/21/chicagoans-protest-donald-trump-inauguration-frigid-cold|access-date=January 25, 2025 |date=January 21, 2025}}{{Cite news |title=

Protestors to march near Trump Tower in Chicago|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/protestors-to-march-near-trump-tower-in-chicago/|access-date=January 25, 2025 |date=January 25, 2025}} The 50501 Movement held anti-Trump administration protests in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois on February 5 and 17, 2025.{{Cite web |last=Victor |first=Emmy |date=February 5, 2025 |title=Protests against Trump, Project 2025 take place in cities across the country |url=https://wgntv.com/news/protests-against-trump-project-2025-planned-in-cities-across-the-country/ |access-date=February 17, 2025 |website=WGN TV |language=en |archive-date=February 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207174945/https://wgntv.com/news/protests-against-trump-project-2025-planned-in-cities-across-the-country/ |url-status=live }}

On February 28, 2025, an abortion rights protest was held in Pecatonica, Illinois to oppose Representative Tony McCombie's reintroduction of a bill that would repeal the Reproductive Health Act and ban abortion in Illinois.{{Cite news |title=Rep. McCombie reintroduces bill to repeal Illinois pro-abortion laws, faces activists in Pecatonica|url=https://www.mystateline.com/news/local-news/rep-tony-mccombie-abortion-bill-protests/|access-date=March 1, 2025 |date=February 28, 2025}}

Illinois Family Institute (IFI), a Christian nonprofit organization opposed to abortion, separation of church and state, "activist judges", the "marriage penalty", civil unions, same-sex marriage, gambling and drug legalization based in Illinois.{{cite news|url=http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=11818556|title=Thousands of phone calls fight video gambling law|date=January 20, 2010|work=WREX|access-date=July 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002131/http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=11818556|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://illinoisfamily.org/issues/|title=Issues We Follow|author=Illinois Family Institute|access-date=July 8, 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://illinoisfamily.org/issue/homosexuality/|title=Homosexuality|author=Illinois Family Institute|access-date=September 25, 2012}}

In 1967, Phyllis Schlafly launched the Eagle Trust Fund in Chicago, Illinois for receiving donations related to conservative causes.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVtFJ5tvINsC&pg=PA158|title=Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics - Lynne E. Ford - Google Boeken|date=2010-05-12|access-date=2012-03-26|isbn=9781438110325|last1=Ford|first1=Lynne E.|publisher=Infobase }} The Eagle Forum was pegged by Schlafly as "the alternative to women's lib." It is opposed to a number of feminist issues, which founder Phyllis Schlafly claimed were "extremely destructive" and "poisoned the attitudes of many young women." The organization believes only in a family consisting of a father, mother and children. They are supportive of women's role as "fulltime homemakers",{{Cite web|url=http://www.eagleforum.org/misc/descript.html|title=Join Eagle Forum and Phyllis Schlafly -- Join Eagle Forum so you will have a voice at the U.S. Capitol and at State Capitols|website=www.eagleforum.org|access-date=2015-12-02}} and opposed to same-sex marriage. Eagle Forum opposes abortion and has defended the push for government defunding of Planned Parenthood.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eagleforum.org/publications/column/planned-parenthoods-odious-activities.html|title=Planned Parenthood's Odious Activities - Eagle Forum|website=Eagle Forum|language=en-US|access-date=2015-12-02}}File:Verbal Confrontation Between Pro Life and Pro Choice Groups Stop Brett Kavanaugh Rally Downtown Chicago Illinois 8-26-18 3503 (43406977565).jpg

After the 1972 proposal of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Schlafly reorganized her efforts to defeat its ratification, founding the group "Stop ERA"[https://archive.org/details/roadstodominionr00diamrich/page/246 Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States] Sara Diamond. Guilford Press, 1995. and starting the Eagle Forum Newsletter. In 1975, Stop ERA was renamed the Eagle Forum. According to Schlafly, the passage of the ERA could "mean Government-funded abortions, homosexual schoolteachers, women forced into military combat and men refusing to support their wives." The newsletter began to circulate, and many conservative women wrote to their legislators, relaying the concerns voiced by Schlafly in the Eagle Forum Newsletter.{{Cite web|url=http://www.makers.com/phyllis-schlafly|title=Phyllis Schlafly|website=MAKERS|access-date=2015-12-02}} Support for The Eagle Forum grew with the support of many conservative women and various church groups, as did the opposition to the ERA. Many of the same women who had helped Schlafly distribute her book were involved with STOP ERA. Less than a year after its creation, STOP ERA had grown to several thousand members.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/phyllis_cri_2005_00_7649|url-access=registration|quote=stop%2520era.|title=Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade|last=Critchlow|first=Donald T.|date=2005-01-01|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0691070024}}

The Pro-Life Action League became active in Chicago in 1980, and tried to disrupt the ability of women to seek abortions by engaging in a variety of tactics, including "sidewalk counseling", sit-ins, and disrupting the water and sewage supplies to abortion clinics. The group's leader, Joe Scheidler, published a book in 1985, called Closed: 99 Ways to Stop Abortion.{{Cite journal|last1=Jacobson|first1=Mireille|last2=Royer|first2=Heather|date=December 2010|title=Aftershocks: The Impact of Clinic Violence on Abortion Services|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w16603|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|volume=3|pages=189–223|doi=10.1257/app.3.1.189}}

The methods used by Pro-life Action League would later become known as the "Chicago Method", which relied on an approach to sidewalk counseling that involves giving those about to enter an abortion facility copies of lawsuits filed against the facility or its physicians.[http://www.prolifeaction.org/news/2002v21n2/controversy.htm "Controversy in the Activist Movement", Pro-Life Action News, August 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070618210651/http://www.prolifeaction.org/news/2002v21n2/controversy.htm|date=2007-06-18}}.

Beginning in 1983, American Catholic Cardinal Joseph Bernardin argued that abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and unjust war are all related, and all wrong. He said that "to be truly 'pro-life,' you have to take all of those issues into account."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNjQaPGdlaMC&pg=PA148|title=The Edge of Life: Human Dignity and Contemporary Bioethics|last=Kaczor|first=Christopher Robert|publisher=Springer|year=2006|isbn=9781402031564|series=Philosophy and Medicine|volume=85|page=148}}

Following the passage of abortion bans in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi in early 2019, Pro-Life Action League saw an increase in donations and people asking to volunteer to help the organization.{{Cite web|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/abortion-bans-are-spurring-donations-to-planned-parenthood-the-national-organization-for-women-and-more-2019-05-17|title=Abortion bans are spurring donations to Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women, and more|last=Pesce|first=Nicole Lyn|website=MarketWatch|access-date=2019-05-27}}

1982 saw a surge in attacks on abortion clinics in the United States with at least four arson attacks and one bombing. One attack occurred in Illinois and one in Virginia. Two occurred in Florida. These five attacks caused over US$1.1 million in damage. In August 1982, three men identifying as the Army of God kidnapped Hector Zevallos (an abortion doctor and abortion clinic owner) and his wife, Rosalee Jean, holding them for eight days.Baird-Windle, Patricia & Bader, Eleanor J., (2001), Targets of Hatred: Anti-Abortion Terrorism, New York, St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|978-0-312-23925-1}}

In Rockford, Illinois on September 30, 2000, John Earl, a Catholic priest, drove his car into the Northern Illinois Health Clinic after learning that the FDA had approved the drug RU-486. He pulled out an ax before being forced to the ground by the owner of the building, who fired two warning shots from a shotgun.{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/US/09/30/axewielding.priest/|title=CNN.com - Axe-wielding priest attacks abortion clinic - September 30, 2000|date=2012-10-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019164822/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/US/09/30/axewielding.priest/|access-date=2019-05-22|archive-date=2012-10-19}} He was sentenced to 30 months of probation and paid over $7,000 in fines and restitution, but was not removed from the priesthood.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rrstar.com/story/news/local/2012/06/16/priest-who-wrecked-abortion-clinic/42653501007/|title=Priest who wrecked abortion clinic moved to Belvidere|date=2012-06-16|access-date=2024-02-21}}

On August 24, 2022, two anti-abortion protesters vandalized an abortion-rights church in the Lake View, Chicago neighborhood on Chicago's north side.{{Cite web |last1=Wittich |first1=Jake |title=Video Shows Lakeview Church Being Vandalized Over Pro-Abortion Rights Sign|url=https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/08/25/video-shows-lakeview-church-being-vandalized-over-pro-abortion-rights-sign/ |website=Block Club Chicago |access-date=August 25, 2022 |date=August 25, 2022}}{{Cite web |last1=Gallardo |first1=Michelle |title=Dozens rally at Lakeview's Second Unitarian Church after reproductive rights message vandalized|url=https://abc7chicago.com/second-unitarian-church-lakeview-abortion-rights-rally/12198009/ |website=ABC 7 Chicago |access-date=September 4, 2022 |date=September 4, 2022}}

In Peoria, Illinois on January 15, 2023, an anti-abortion protester threw a fire accelerant at a window of a Planned Parenthood, causing a fire and an estimated $150,000 in damages.{{Cite news |last=Harvey |first=Andrew |title=Arson investigation at Peoria Planned Parenthood|url=https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/arson-investigation-at-peoria-planned-parenthood/|access-date=January 16, 2023 |date=January 16, 2023}} On January 22, abortion rights protesters rallied to support the clinic in response to the attack.{{Cite news|last=Kravetz |first=Andy |title=After arson at Planned Parenthood clinic, dozens attend rally in Peoria|url=https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/01/23/planned-parenthood-peoria-arson/69830137007/|access-date=January 22, 2023 |date=January 22, 2023}} The anti-abortion protestor was arrested on federal arson-related charges on January 24.{{Cite news |last=Winsor |first=Morgan |title=Illinois man charged with setting fire to Planned Parenthood clinic|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/illinois-man-charged-setting-fire-planned-parenthood-clinic/story?id=96682791|access-date=January 29, 2023 |date=January 26, 2023}} He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison.{{Cite news |title=A man who set a fire at an Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic sentenced to 10 years in prison|url=https://apnews.com/article/illinois-planned-parenthood-clinic-arson-9a303f2aee4febce6e06b27d602f5382|access-date=February 22, 2024 |date=August 15, 2023}}

In Danville, Illinois on May 20, 2023, an anti-abortion protester was arrested and charged with attempted arson after ramming his vehicle filled with containers of gasoline into a prospective abortion clinic, just weeks after hundreds of abortion rights protesters had rallied in opposition to a proposed local ordinance banning abortion pills, which are legal in Illinois per the Reproductive Health Care Act.{{Cite news |last=Lourgos |first=Angie Leventis |title=Man allegedly rammed car into prospective Danville abortion clinic while trying to set it on fire, feds say|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-met-danville-attack-abortion-20230523-lkgqv74q75c7dkk4klyqdiatqe-story.html|access-date=May 23, 2023 |date=May 23, 2023}} He was later sentenced to 5 years in prison.{{Cite news |title=Illinois man gets 5 years for trying to burn down planned abortion clinic|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/philip-buyno-sentenced-abortion-clinic-danville/|access-date=February 22, 2024 |date=February 6, 2024}}

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{{Abortion by US state}}

Illinois

Category:Healthcare in Illinois

Category:Women in Illinois