As the daughter of a doctor, fighting for health care access has always been my top priority. Having sole ownership over decision-making on matters regarding bodily autonomy is a fundamental human right. I am proud to have twice received the Illinois Planned Parenthood Profile in Courage Award for the passage of the Contraceptive Equity Act and HB40.
When Trump was first elected in 2016, I saw the writing on the wall—for women, for the LGBTQ+ community, and for health care. So I went to Springfield, buried myself in the Legislative Reference Bureau, and entered an amendment to a Medicaid bill that would remove the ‘trigger provision’ in Illinois law to protect abortion rights in the event Roe-v-Wade was overturned. I filed that bill, moved it, got it prioritized, and we passed HB40 and then quickly enshrined abortion rights into our state Constitution.
HB40 also ended discriminatory provisions in state law prohibiting access to abortion care for people insured by Medicaid.
But we didn’t rest on that achievement. In 2019, we passed the Reproductive Health Act, which ensures that services like abortion, maternal care, and contraception are treated like any other health care service, without special restrictions.
In 2023, we passed our shield laws in direct response to the overturning of Roe and the states that tried to criminalize people seeking critical and lifesaving services elsewhere. The shield laws protect healthcare providers and patients from legal action by other states, particularly for abortion and gender-affirming care.
In Illinois, we will never go back. Abortion is health care. And I will always fight to keep it that way.
Awards:
2023: Health Care Council of Illinois – Legislator of the Year Award
2017: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Legislative Award for House Bill 40
2017: Chicago Chapter National Organization for Women – Woman Who Dared Award
2005 & 2018: Planned Parenthood Illinois – Richard J. Phelan Profile in Courage Award