Today, the Illinois General Assembly passed one the most expansive abortion bills in the nation. It passed with 64 yes votes, 50 no votes, and 4 voted present. Here is a short segment of my remarks on the floor.
Posted by State Representative Avery Bourne on Tuesday, May 28, 2019
An expectant mother in her 34th week of pregnancy, Bourne called the proposed plan a “broad expansion,” making late-term abortions widely available despite the viability of the fetus outside the womb.
“This bill means that for a woman at my stage in pregnancy, where the baby responds to his dad’s voice as he reads him books at night, … the baby is perfectly healthy,” Bourne said in her argument Monday. “But if that woman says, ‘Based on my familial health, this is medically necessary,’ [abortion] is allowed.”
The Reproductive Health Act will now move to the Senate where a Democratic-majority is expected to push it through to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has already said he is looking forward to signing it.
It’s all in response to a greater effort by many Republican-led states to reach the U.S. Supreme Court for a review of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which guaranteed the right to abortion.
Representatives in the state of Virginia saw a similar bill to that of Illinois this January, which would have allowed abortion to take place during ACTIVE LABOR. Thankfully it was shot down in the subcommittee after a video of the bill’s sponsor went viral and Gov. Ralph Northam made comments that were interpreted as infanticide.
The list of states pushing for abortion expansion laws like Illinois rivals that of the states passing abortion restrictions and bans. Nevada, Rhode Island, and Vermont are all working to reinforce abortion rights in preparation for the potential abandonment of Roe.
Jesus, please come back.
