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Gwen Pepin
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Chicago, IL — In case you missed it, Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez penned an op-ed in response to Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ destruction of women’s autonomy across the nation and Illinois’ role as a safe haven for reproductive freedom.
Opinion: How Illinois became ground zero in the battle to preserve abortion access
Crain’s Chicago Business | By: Lisa Hernandez
Key Excerpts:
- Two years ago, the Supreme Court — stacked with anti-choice justices by Donald Trump — overturned Roe v. Wade. Since then, extreme Republicans continue to put women’s lives in danger, with Black, Latina and lower-income women—groups who already suffer from maternal health disparities—disproportionately impacted by these archaic bans.
- Illinois Republicans would undoubtedly fall in line with Trump to help implement his strategy to ban abortion nationwide. At the party’s recent state convention, members adopted a platform that called for the “restoration of the culture of life in Illinois” and condemned Illinois for becoming “the most radically pro-abortion state in the union. Unfortunately for our state’s GOP, we’re proud to be a sanctuary for women who have nowhere else to turn for the care they need and deserve.
- After Roe, Illinois has become a beacon of abortion access. Over 3 million women in the Midwest now live under an abortion ban, and hundreds of women travel every single week to our state to receive the care they need. In fact, providers have stated that out-of-state abortions have quadrupled since the fall of Roe. Our role as a refuge for abortion seekers cannot be overstated. As the Iowa Supreme Court is set to hand down its decision this month on whether or not to make Iowan women suffer under an archaic ban — one that would ban abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant — services in our great state could become even more crucial.
