Photo: Attorney General Raoul discusses the work his office has done to protect a woman’s right to make reproductive health decisions in Illinois. Photo credit: Lawrence Jackson, Director of Photography, Office of the Vice President
Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and California Chief Deputy Attorney General Venus Johnson for a roundtable discussion about protecting access to reproductive health care. Participating virtually were Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
“I appreciate the opportunity to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and some of my colleagues to discuss the critical need for women around the country to have the right to make their own reproductive health decisions. The decision to seek an abortion is highly-personal and can be based on a number of factors – all of which are between a woman and her health care provider,” Raoul said. “Illinois is a reproductive health oasis, and I assured the Vice President that we will proudly remain so, as many of our neighboring states have enacted draconian policies to limit or take away a woman’s right to make decisions about her body and future. Regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, I remain absolutely committed to defending protections in current Illinois law and working to ensure that state law explicitly protects women and providers as we prepare to meet the need for increased abortion care in Illinois.”
During the discussion, Raoul and the attorneys general briefed Vice President Harris on states’ efforts to defend their residents’ access to abortion care in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. A number of states surrounding Illinois have already enacted measures to limit access or criminalize abortion, making Illinois a reproductive health care oasis in the Midwest. Raoul highlighted guidance his office has issued to ensure that patients and law enforcement are aware that, regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, abortion is and will remain legal in Illinois. Raoul also discussed his efforts to clarify and expand safeguards under state law to ensure that women and providers are protected from those who will use the decision to obstruct access to abortion care.
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