A bill that would legalize abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy for any reason has been introduced in Illinois. 

The Reproductive Health Act states it is the “fundamental right” of a pregnant person “to have an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise that right.” The bill further states that “a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the laws of this State.”

The bill would also require all private health insurance policies to cover abortion with no exemptions, eliminate restrictions on where abortions may be performed and allow nonphysicians to perform abortions.

“The barbaric procedures promoted by this legislation are nothing short of infanticide,” said Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel for the Thomas More Society and former Illinois House minority floor leader. “These bills go well beyond the recent New York law and would turn Illinois into a third-trimester abortion destination and an underage abortion haven.”