Illustration of a baby embryo. Chat on a pregnancy theme. Pregnancy and abortion idea â?? social forum on medical theme.
Illinois Catholic leaders are condemning the passage of the Reproductive Health Act. The measure passed over the weekend would repeal-and-replace abortion laws in the state.
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.
Illinois’ dioceses say the legislation is the most liberal reproductive health care law in the nation, calling it “horrific” and “horribly misnamed.”
