Illinois Democrats on Wednesday passed a bill that allows minors to get abortions without parental notification, leaving the state without a single law curbing abortion access.
Both chambers of the Illinois statehouse repealed the Parental Notification Act, which requires parents to be notified 48 hours in advance before their child gets an abortion. Pro-abortion politicians, lobbyists, and leaders celebrated the repeal as the final act in establishing abortion on demand. Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker (D.) is expected to sign the bill, which one state representative praised for making the state "100% pro-choice." One Illinois pro-abortion lobbyist called it "the absolute last bill that I will ask anyone to take in the General Assembly because [passage] will bring Illinois back to what Roe v. Wade was in 1973,"
Democratic lawmakers across the country have scrambled in recent weeks to expand abortion access in response to the enactment of a six-week abortion ban in Texas. Democrats in the House of Representatives passed a bill in September that would codify Roe v. Wade and overturn all pro-life laws nationwide. The bill is not expected to pass in the Senate.
Illinois Democrats emphasized the need to repeal the parental notification mandate because they said it deters women in abusive relationships from getting an abortion. Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, said this argument is completely backward.
"Democrats who voted to repeal the parental notification law in Illinois are providing criminals who engage in human trafficking or abuse of minors an opportunity to hide their crimes," Day told the Washington Free Beacon. "We appreciate the Democrats who stood up and opposed the repeal and we urge the governor to veto this dangerous proposal."
The Democratic Party of Illinois and Pritzker’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Pro-life leaders say the Illinois repeal shows how Democratic leaders have completely aligned themselves with the abortion industry.
"Sadly, extreme pro-abortion Democrat state legislators in Illinois continue to push a radical agenda of abortion on demand until birth without limits—making the state the abortion capital of the Midwest," Prudence Robertson, a communications associate at the Susan B. Anthony List, told the Free Beacon. "These legislators should take heed of the will of the people, as well as advances in science and technology that increasingly reveal the humanity of unborn children."
"Parents have a basic right to be involved in their children's lives, particularly when it involves something as serious as abortion, but many Democrats don't think so, and that's tragic," Rep. Rodney Davis (R., Ill.) told the Free Beacon. "It's common sense, but Illinois Democrats would rather push a radical agenda instead of promoting policy that protects young girls and the rights of parents."
Parental involvement in minors’ abortions is required in 38 states, with 21 requiring consent. Illinois was one of 11 states that only require parental notification. A poll found three-fourths of respondents in Illinois support the parental notification law.
Illinois passed an abortion law in 2019 that repealed a ban on partial-birth abortions, broadened standards regarding which medical experts could perform abortions, and enshrined abortion as a "fundamental right."
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, said the Illinois repeal is an example of Democratic leaders prioritizing the abortion industry over families.
"Democrats' repeal of this law is yet another clear indication of the anti-parent, anti-family, anti-life ideology that animates every part of their cultural agenda," Schilling told the Free Beacon. "And as we're seeing now throughout the country, families are starting to wake up to this reality. Backlash is brewing, and Democrats are about to face severe political consequences for their destructive radicalism."