Bill To Remove Troubling Abortion 'Trigger' Law Passes Senate, Heads To Rauner's Desk

By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 10, 2017 9:28PM

Lawmakers in the Illinois Senate have passed a bill that meant to safeguard abortion rights for Illinois residents, in addition to expanding options for Medicaid recipients and state employees. The bill is now on to Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk, though the governor has promised to veto the bill.

The bill calls for the scrapping of Illinois's current “trigger law,” which opponents worry would make abortion automatically illegal in Illinois in case the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade being overturned by future court.

The bill also calls for the expansion of abortion access in Illinois, where right now the state only pays for abortions in cases of rape, incest or life-threatening health risks to the mother. The bill expands coverage to include women on Medicaid and women who are state employees on the state's health insurance as well.

Rauner has promised to veto the bill when it gets to his desk, under pressure from his more socially-conservative supporters. Democrat State Sen. Heather Steans, of Chicago, said "It is time for us to ensure [abortion access] and keep it safe here," according to the Sun-Times, but several state senators expresse both their opposition to the bill, and to abortion access in general, including Sen. Neil Anderson and Dan McConchie.