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URGING THE ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO SUPPORT HB2495, THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT
WHEREAS, every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about one's own reproductive health; and
WHEREAS, every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion; and
WHEREAS, no person who has terminated a pregnancy has made that deeply personal decision lightly; and
WHEREAS, accessing reproductive health care is not a criminal activity; and
WHEREAS, the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health non-profit, found that women around the world access abortion services at a statistically same rate whether they are legal and safe or illegal and unregulated; and
WHEREAS, deaths and injuries from unsafe abortions are preventable; and
WHEREAS, marginalized individuals are disproportionately affected by abortion restrictions as they are unable to seek safe and legal services in another country, state or county or access private care; and
WHEREAS, over the last 60 years, more than 30 countries have changed their laws to allow for greater access to abortion in recognition of its vital role in protecting women's lives and health; and
WHEREAS, in 1973 the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade to protect legal rights to safe abortions; and
WHEREAS, criminalization of abortion results in a chilling effect, in which medical professionals may apply more narrow restrictions than required by the law or in which women and girls may be deterred from seeking health care for life-threatening complications due to unsafe abortions or other pregnancy issues; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, or the Treaty for the Rights of Women), has consistently stated that restrictive abortion laws constitute discrimination against women; and
WHEREAS, under international human rights law, everyone has a right to life, health, and t...
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