South Central Reporter

State Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) is calling attention to reports that women from out of state are traveling to Illinois to have abortions.

“Pregnant moms have reportedly traveled from more than 30 states to kill their preborn babies in Illinois,” he wrote in a June 21 Facebook post.

In his post, Halbrook shared a link to a website that quotes Planned Parenthood as saying that abortions are up 54 percent in the state. "We are seeing people from places as far away as Texas and Florida, where they have nothing, no access in between their home state and Illinois,” according to a report posted by LifeSite News.

“Imagine having to travel hundreds of miles to get the care that you need," Brigid Leahy, vice president of Planned Parenthood Illinois, told ABC News affiliate News Channel 20. "The increase is directly the result of other states banning abortion.”

Abortion is legal on demand in Illinois until “fetal viability,” which is usually identified between 22 to 28 weeks’ gestation, and legal up to birth under broadly defined “health” exceptions.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a measure codifying abortion as a “fundamental right” in 2019.

On June 20, CBS News noted that the 2019 law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that made reproductive healthcare a human right was an enhancement of a law signed by his Republican predecessor, Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017 – which codified abortion as legal in the state, provided insurance and Medicaid coverage for abortion care as well. Planned Parenthood Illinois also told CBS News that it saw 750 patients in just the first week after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

House Bill 2467 would repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995, which has been responsible for a reduction of more than 55 percent in abortions among Illinois minors since 2012.

“Taking away parental notification would also make Illinois more of an abortion destination as teens in other states would seek to take advantage of the lack of parental notification requirements in Illinois and have their abortions here,” Halbrook said. “Illinois taxpayers could potentially be paying the bill for minors from other states to come here and get abortions. We must stop the efforts to eliminate our parental notification laws.”