Legislative Update

Friday, February 27, 2004

Important Emergency Contraception Measure Moves Forward in Illinois House!

Dear Friend of Civil Liberties,

The Illinois General Assembly is beginning to advance important legislation as the Spring 2004 session moves forward. We expect that many of the issues we care most about will be moving slowly at this point, but move with more speed after the Illinois primary on March 16th. We have one important measure to report this week.

Earlier this week, the House Health Care Committee approved House Bill 6577, a measure that provides women with timely access to emergency contraception in Illinois. In specific, House Bill 6577 allows pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription. The legislation was approved by a vote of 13 in favor, 4 in opposition and 1 voting “present.” The Committee members and their votes are listed below. Please thank your member of the Illinois House if they supported this important legislation.

ILLINOIS HOUSE HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE

Mary E. Flowers, Chair – voted NO

Frank Aguilar – voted NO

Patricia Bailey – voted YES

Maria Antonio Berrios – voted YES

Linda Chapa LaVia – voted YES

Elizabeth Coulsen – voted YES

John Fritchey – voted YES

Deborah Graham – voted YES

Constance Howard – voted YES

Carolyn Krause – voted YES

Rosemary Kurtz – voted YES

Karen May – voted YES

Rosemary Mulligan – voted YES

Ruth Munson – voted PRESENT

Kathleen Ryg – voted YES

Ricca Stone – voted YES

Keith Sommer – voted NO

Ron Stephens – voted NO

If you are unsure, you can find out who your state representative is at http://www.legis.state.il.us/default.asp.

Thank you again for your important participation!