In the national spotlight, Illinois Democrats talk up abortion as ‘fundamental’ election issue

With Illinois on the national stage this week, local Democrats Tuesday promoted the state’s status as an “oasis for reproductive freedom” as they use abortion as a key issue to drive voters to the polls.

Tuesday’s theme on day two of the Democratic National Convention was “A Bold Vision for America’s Future.”

“Not to discount the DNC, but I’d just like to point out that Illinois is already demonstrating what a bold progressive future looks like,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said during the Illinois delegation’s daily breakfast at the Royal Sonesta hotel. “In Illinois, we trust women. And we are leading the nation in efforts to protect reproductive freedom.”

Stratton called Illinois the “blueprint” for the battle over abortion rights, and called on party loyalists to help flip the U.S. House blue, increase the Senate majority, and elect Kamala Harris president to defeat Republican efforts to curtail access to abortion, birth control and in vitro fertilization.

Under Democratic supermajorities in Illinois, the state has passed a slew of legal measures — both before and in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 — from protections for out-of-state abortion seekers and providers, to a requirement that health insurance companies cover abortions without copays or deductibles.

Women seeking abortions have flocked to Illinois — some 37,000 last year — with many of them coming from 14 states that have enacted abortion bans, according to the Chicago Abortion Fund, a nonprofit group that helps cover costs for women seeking the procedure.

Megan Jeyifo, the organization’s executive director who spoke during Tuesday morning’s delegate breakfast, called Illinois “a beacon for access.”

Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs also spent most of his speech talking about reproductive issues, saying he ripped up his written remarks after watching four people tell their personal stories on stage during the convention Monday night.

Frerichs credited in vitro fertilization with the birth of his two twin boys.

During his first marriage, he said a doctor advised him and his then-wife to terminate a pregnancy at four months after an ultrasound detected anencephaly, a fatal birth defect. Two downstate hospitals didn’t allow abortion procedures, Frerichs said, so they relied on Planned Parenthood.

Stratton equated the abortion issue with the economy in the coming election, calling it “fundamental.”

“We’re here on the national stage because of exactly what we’ve done in Illinois,” she said. “We have protected reproductive freedom. We have become a safe heaven for women across the country.”