Illinois lawmakers considering allowing nurses to perform in-clinic abortions
Luke Gentile
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Illinois nurses could be performing in-clinic abortions soon as state legislators continue to change healthcare licensing laws in the blue stronghold.
The push to rewrite the laws arrives following a swath of abortion restrictions and bans that swept across Illinois’s neighbors after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer, according to a report.
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Those bans and restrictions have caused out-of-state patients to rush to Illinois, resulting in a significant increase in abortion caseloads in the state’s clinics.
“Their states have cut off access. That’s putting an incredible burden on our system,” state Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D) said. “We are seeing so many folks coming in from out of state that the residents of Illinois are having trouble getting access to these procedures.”
Rival bills in both the Illinois House and Senate would set aside provisions allowing approximately 3,000 physician assistants and 14,000 advanced practice registered nurses to perform in-clinic abortion procedures, according to the report.
Historically, such healthcare professionals have only been permitted to perform medication-based abortion procedures, the report noted.
Illinois Senate Republicans argue that such a drastic change to state law puts women at risk.
“Allowing a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant or midwife to perform those kind of procedures is not safe for women,” state Sen. Terri Bryant (R) said.
If passed, the new law would only permit professionals like physician assistants and nurses to perform abortion procedures that do not require general anesthesia.
The proposal also offers healthcare workers in neighboring states a legal shield to protect against punishment for conducting abortion procedures.
“Sort of the core of this bill is creating protections for providers and patients and supporters against the incursion from hostile states who are threatening to criminalize and provide civil penalties, both for patients and providers,” Cassidy said.
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The proposal in the House passed Sunday, including a protective measure for transgender patients, and the Senate could vote on an updated proposal Tuesday.