Making Illinois a Safe Place for Women’s Reproductive Health Care
Personal PAC, an Illinois pro-choice organization, is implementing a multi-step strategy that will protect women’s reproductive rights in Illinois through 2032, regardless of any decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. With the passage of the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) and the repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion (PNA) law, Personal PAC accomplished its goal of repealing all existing anti-choice statutes and enacting pro-choice legislation in their place. And, in 2022, Personal PAC helped elect two new pro-choice justices to the Illinois Supreme Court, ensuring that the courts in Illinois will uphold women’s reproductive rights for the next decade.
One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Thanks to Trump’s Supreme Court overturning Roe, we must depend on our state and local elected officials to protect reproductive health care rights in Illinois. With abortion bans going into effect in more than half of all states, we need your full support to ensure Illinois can be here for all women from across the country. Without Illinois, women between the two coasts will have no place to turn for access to abortion services–putting a target square on our back for the anti-choice activists who have already achieved their goals in our surrounding states. When you support our work, you also donate to Illinois pro-choice candidates and campaigns, which helps to protect reproductive freedom for women across the Midwest!
Keeping Abortion Safe and Legal Since 1989
For decades, Illinois had some of the most restrictive, anti-women, and outright cruel abortion restrictions in the United States. In 1989, Personal PAC was founded to reverse that tide. With the help of citizens across the state, we’ve been incredibly successful. But the fight never ends.
The enemies of choice never stop. And neither will we.
Pro-Choice Bills Passed
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Election success for actively supported candidates
Anti-Choice Bills Defeated
Candidates Successfully Elected
Abortion in Illinois Is Under Attack By Right-Wing Extremists
HB 40 prevents Illinois from automatically making abortion illegal and dangerous when Roe is overturned and ensures that women who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance and state employees have access to abortion care. Right-wing politicians are trying to repeal HB 40 and make Illinois a more dangerous state for all women.
22 Anti-Abortion Bills Currently Pending in the Illinois General Assembly
The Reproductive Health Act (Rha)
In June of 2019, the Reproductive Health Act became law. The RHA modernized the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 which prohibited access for women to legally terminate an unwanted pregnancy. This update to Illinois’ laws gives women fundamental rights to make decisions about their own reproductive health care, including maternity and abortion care.
Since the RHA has gone into effect, right-wing legislators have filed bills for its repeal. If this repeal is passed, it would result in women losing their constitutional right to legal and safe abortions in Illinois, which is why Personal PAC is dedicated to continuing the fight to protect women’s reproductive health care rights. Illinois women are depending on us.
We Can’t Go Back to This
When abortion is illegal, women are forced to risk everything. Sheila was brave enough to share her story of desperation, cruelty, and abandonment. It’s a story of survival, but one she never should have had to go through. Her story is one too many women have had to tell. We can never go back to those dark and deadly days. With your help, we’ll fight against those who want to drag us back.
“There if I Needed It”
At 17, I was the first of my friends to have sex. Growing up in a middle-class suburb of the Twin Cities, I was lucky that when I thought I was pregnant there was a safe place I could go to get a free pregnancy test without shame or pressure. I was at the top of my senior class and on my way to being the first of my family to go to college – my whole life was ahead of me. I knew that a baby would take away all my future prospects. When the test came back negative I was relieved. Looking back, I don’t think I realized at the time how lucky I was to have the option of an abortion if I needed it. But now, watching the restrictions being placed on a woman’s reproductive health rights across the country, I wonder what my life would be like now if that test came back positive.
– Megan, 37
When we share our stories about abortion, we learn about strong women making positive choices to improve their lives and protect their health. We show each other that we are not alone in this fight and that there is a supportive community within Personal PAC. We’d be honored if you shared your story. Let’s remember the lives we are fighting for.
Want to take immediate action? Get together with your friends, neighbors, relatives, or co-workers to co-host or attend a fundraising event where elected officials, celebrities, civil rights heroes, and Personal PAC representatives will talk about how we have to keep fighting. Check out our current events page to learn more.