RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago recognizes the importance of a woman's right to make her own reproductive health decisions; and
WHEREAS, In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that women have a constitutionally protected right to choose to have an abortion; and
WHEREAS, In response, Illinois enacted the Abortion Law of 1975, which codified the decision in Roe v. Wade, but also included trigger language that could automatically prohibit abortions in Illinois if Roe v. Wade is ever reversed; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois Abortion Law also discriminatorily denies health insurance coverage for abortions for women covered by Medicaid or state employee health insurance; and
WHEREAS, Illinois House Bill 40 respects the rights of individuals to make their own family planning decisions by removing both the trigger language and the discriminatory insurance coverage provisions of the Illinois Abortion Law; and
WHEREAS, Passage of House Bill 40 is of critical importance because President Donald Trump promised to appoint Justices to the Supreme Court who would be open to reversing Roe v. Wade during his presidential campaign, creating a real danger that the trigger language could become effective; and
WHEREAS, Removal of the trigger language in the Illinois Abortion Law is necessary to safeguard a woman's right to make her own choices about her health; and
WHEREAS, All women should have access to comprehensive health care, including abortion services, regardless of whether they have private or government-funded health insurance; and
WHEREAS, During his 2014 campaign, Governor Bruce Rauner ran as a pro-choice candidate, and stated that he was in favor of providing health insurance coverage for recipients of Medicaid and those on state employee health insurance plans; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, with the staunch support of the City Clerk, assembled this sixth day of September, 2017, do hereby affirm our commitment to a woman's right to make her own reproductive health choices, and to have health insurance coverage for the option she chooses; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we call upon Governor Rauner, once he receives this important legislation, to promptly sign House Bill 40 into law; and
ANDREA M. VALENCIA City Clerk
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Governor Bruce Rauner, the President of the Illinois Senate, the Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, as a sign of our commitment to this important issue.