A bill that establishes a “fundamental right” for women to get an abortion in Illinois cleared the state Senate late Friday night, sending the sweeping measure to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who already has signaled his support.
Just before midnight Friday, the Senate voted 34-20 in favor of the abortion legislation.
The bill establishes the “fundamental right” of a women to have an abortion and states that a “fertilized egg, embryo or fetus does not have independent rights.”
It repeals the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, doing away with provisions for spousal consent, waiting periods, criminal penalties for physicians who perform abortions and other restrictions on facilities where abortions are performed.
The Illinois bill also repeals the state’s Partial-Birth Abortion law, but a federal law banning the late-term procedure except to save a mother’s life remains in place.
