EDITORIAL: Tax dollars and abortions: When politics and scare tactics roil a difficult debate
Both groups rely on taxpayers to subsidize their health care. Owing to public disagreement, public funding of abortion coverage has been deliberately left out of their plans except in cases of rape, incest or to protect the life or health of the mother. For elective abortions, members of these two groups have been expected to pay out of pocket.
This bill would change that. But gubernatorial politics and scare tactics are playing big roles in what ought to be a serious statewide policy debate. The chief sponsor, Rep.
Tuesday's vote in the
Then there's Trump. Some supporters tout the bill as a stopgap to protect abortion rights should the
Feigenholtz said her bill reaffirms that "no matter what the federal government does, women should have access to safe, legal and accessible abortion."
But the state's legislative research unit and attorneys on both sides of the issue have said states' rights would be protected if Roe were overturned. What's more, because of privacy protections in the Illinois Constitution, it's unlikely a future
None of that, though, has stopped some supporters from saying
The more forthright case for this bill, which some of its supporters voiced during House debate, is that it would provide access to elective abortion for low-income women on
Opponents countered that the bill is not about protecting the status quo but rather about expanding abortion access at the expense of taxpayers. By how much isn't clear. Opponents said the increased number of taxpayer-funded abortions could cost up to
It stands to reason that also funding elective abortions would raise the cost. But for the opponents, cost has never been the main issue. We haven't seen recent
As this bill moves to the
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