Springfield | New laws take effect, some started July 1, following a Spring Legislative Session of the 103rd Illinois General Assembly that adjourned May 29, after going into extended session once it reached its May 24 deadline. The General Assembly introduced 11,903 bills and resolutions in 2023-2024 legislative period with 2,374 completed/passed. Here are a few of the bills which passed and are expected to be signed into law by the governor that are of concern to most Illinois Baptists:
- Treatments for out-of-state minors: HB 5239 amends the Reproductive Health Act to allow minors from other states to apply for travel to Illinois and apply for public funds to obtain an abortion through Illinois’ Family Planning Program. It grants them a right to privacy from any of that information being shared by threat of civil or criminal liability. Gender hormone therapy and surgery are also included. Although there were concerns related to the bill regarding human trafficking, it passed in the Senate along party lines.
- Abortion-related discrimination: HB 4867 amends the Illinois Human Rights Act by declaring the public policy of “this State that a person has freedom from unlawful discrimination in making reproductive health decisions and such discrimination is unlawful.” It further defines reproductive health decisions to mean “a person’s decisions regarding the person’s use of contraception; fertility or sterilization care; assisted reproductive technologies; miscarriage management care; healthcare related to the continuation or termination of pregnancy; or prenatal, intranatal, or postnatal care.” The bill’s opponents fear it will be used to force pregnancy resource centers, which are pro-life, to hire employees in favor of abortions. The bill is expected go into effect immediately once signed by the governor.
- Trans birth certificates: HB 5507 amends the Code of Civil Procedure by creating a process for Illinois residents who claim to be transgender and were born outside the state to seek an Illinois judicial order to change a birth certificate or other identifying document issued by another state or country. The bill will go into effect immediately once signed by the governor.
- Free yoga: SB 2872 amends the School Code to allow schools to provide at least 20-minutes a week of relaxation activities such as yoga for students in addition to recess. This follows a class-action lawsuit that was filed in April against Chicago Public Schools by former students who alleged they were pressed into taking part in transcendental meditation sessions and told to keep them a secret from their parents as part of a structured in class “quiet time.”