Illinois governor signs ‘extreme’ abortion law

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law Wednesday stripping all protections from unborn children, allowing for abortions up to the moment of birth. The law, effective immediately, also allows partial-birth abortions, removes protection for pro-life doctors and insurers who object to the practice, and loosens requirements for abortion providers, among other provisions. During the signing, Pritzker, a Democrat, said the law made Illinois a “beacon of hope” and that “abortion bans don’t ban abortion. They just endanger women.” State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat who sponsored the bill, said the law is about “building a firewall around Illinois to protect access.”

The Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life group, called it the “nation’s most extreme abortion law.” Its national campaign chairwoman, Jill Stanek said noted, “While a growing number of states are working to advance popular pro-life laws, Illinois is trying to outdo New York’s abortion extremism—and unborn children and their mothers will pay the price. There is no pride or glory in being the most extreme pro-abortion state in the nation.”