The following statement can be attributed to John Knight, LGBTQ & HIV Project Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:

“Today, we celebrate President Biden’s executive order lifting the ban on transgender service members in the military. The President’s action reverses the cruel and arbitrary ban imposed by the previous administration nearly four years ago. 
 
The facts are clear. The ban did not make our nation safer and it did not increase effectiveness or morale for our troops. Rather, it simply denied the opportunity to serve to new recruits as well as people who had been serving effectively for years and wanted nothing more than to continue doing their job to protect our country. 
 
Time and again over the past four years, in courtrooms across the country, the lack of justification for this ban has been attested to by a range of experts on military preparedness. It was long past time to bring this cruelty to an end.”

Today we mark 48 years since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, which affirmed an individual’s right to determine their own future by deciding whether and when to become a parent. Two years ago, Governor J.B. Pritzker pledged to make Illinois a national leader in protecting the right to access reproductive health care. Yet still there are youth in Illinois who are forced to appear in front of a judge and seek approval to control their own reproductive health care.

Over the past seven years more than 500 young people have had to go to court across the state due to a dangerous law, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (PNA), that forces the involvement of a parent, grandparent, step-parent they live with, or other legal guardian in their decision to have an abortion.

The majority of young people under 18 voluntarily consult with a parent or other trusted adult when seeking abortion care. However, some young people must go through out a court process known as “judicial bypass” instead, because they are not able to trust one of the specific individuals designated by the law with this decision. They may fear physical or emotional abuse, being kicked out of their home, being forced to continue an unwanted pregnancy, or other harms.

The ACLU of Illinois operates a Judicial Bypass Coordination Project to provide legal assistance to the youth who must endure this court process. We have seen firsthand how this process can delay young people’s access to time-sensitive healthcare – going to court for a judicial bypass takes over six days on average, and sometimes much more – and present significant logistical and emotional burdens.

Instead of blocking young people’s access to reproductive health care, Illinois should be investing in solutions like ensuring medically accurate, comprehensive sexual health education in schools; increasing access to affordable birth control; and helping to foster healthy, shame-free communications between young people and their families, teachers, and doctors.

Young people are in the best position to know who will keep them safe, healthy and affirmed. As we mark the anniversary of Roe this year, it is time for Illinois to repeal PNA, and ensure that all young people in Illinois have access to safe and timely reproductive health care.

The following statement can be attributed to Colleen Connell, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:
 
“After four years, we cheer today’s order from President Biden reversing the discriminatory, discredited Muslim travel ban. The deliberate embrace of Islamophobia as the policy of our federal government is a shameful episode that cannot be erased with a single signature. It will take work. It will take not simply lifting a travel ban but adopting and enforcing policies that rejects bigotry aimed at Muslims across our nation. That work must begin immediately. 
 
As we celebrate President Biden’s action, we remember those individuals and families who have suffered over the past four years. Birthdays, weddings, births and funerals have occurred with an empty chair because of this travel ban – which was never about safety and security. We also recall the heroes, the families who called out injustice and the lawyers who showed up at airports in the first hours of the travel ban with many continuing to help families and individuals facing discrimination. Their commitment has kept the flame of hope shining for many. And finally, we think about all those who stood up and went to O’Hare and sites across the country to protest this ban four long years ago. Our work to fight this discrimination must continue, not end, after today.”