Earlier today, the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee approved Senate Bill 1594, which repeals the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995. The law has been enforced only since 2013, after decades of courts blocking enforcement. Young people who do not have an adult family member or guardian to turn to, are forced to go before a judge before getting the healthcare they need.
The following statement can be attributed to Colleen Connell, Executive Director, ACLU of Illinois:
“Today is a good day for young people across the State of Illinois, as we take an important step to ending the dangerous, forced parental notice law. Family communications cannot be mandated by law, they flow from trust and shared values among family members. A young person who does not want to communicate with a parent has a very good reason. We need to trust youth in our state to make the health care decisions, without forcing them to risk their health and safety.
We thank sponsor Senator Elgie Sims for his leadership on this issue and look forward to passage by the full Senate.”
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