Gov. JB Pritzker Expands and Strengthens Abortion Access With 2 New Bills

The Illinois governor signed a bill to increase access to contraception and abortion pills for college students and one to strengthen the state's shield law.

By Danielle Han | August 25, 2025 | 3:59pm

Photo: Getty Images Politics

Gov. JB Pritzker Expands and Strengthens Abortion Access With 2 New Bills

In our festering democracy, one governor has dared to deliver the hottest of takes. “In Illinois, we think women should make their own decisions,” Governor JB Pritzker said during a recent bill-signing ceremony. Controversial much, JB?

On Friday, the Democratic governor signed two new no-brainer bills to protect reproductive rights in the state. The first, HB 3637, permits healthcare workers to provide abortions—which are legal in Illinois—without fear of discipline by creepy, overreaching freaks like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who, since December, has been waging a lawsuit against a New York doctor for allegedly mailing abortion pills to a Texan woman. Specifically, HB 3637 is an expanded shield law, and both further protects providers—from midwives to wholesale drug distributors—while also allowing certain medications to be prescribed for the next decade even if the federal government revokes their approval (cough, cough).

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The second bill, HB 3709, expands access to contraception and medication abortion for college and university students, a service that many schools abandoned after Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Before Friday, only California, Massachusetts, and New York required colleges and universities to provide students access to medication abortion (a contrast to Texas, where professors have tried to fail students who get the procedure), and Illinois is the first in the Midwest to pass such a policy. “We will not allow extreme, restrictive policies from other states to threaten the livelihoods of our healthcare providers and dictate the care that people receive in our state,” Democratic Senator Karina Villa said during the bill-signing ceremony.

Through HB 3709, which takes effect immediately, public institutions with student-health services are required to provide medication abortion and contraception starting with the 2025-26 school year. “This legislation is a critical step in ensuring that Illinois students can access medication abortion care when they need it—without leaving campus or facing delays that increase costs and complexity,” Alicia Hurtado, the advocacy and communications director of Chicago Abortion Fund, said in a statement. “By becoming the first state in the Midwest to guarantee public university campus access to medication abortion and contraception, Illinois is sending a clear message: our young people’s health and futures matter.”

Illinois has had a run of “firsts” lately, introducing a slew of counter-policies against the GOP agenda. In late July, it became the first state to require mental health screenings; in early August, the first to ban AI therapists; and just Monday, the first to revive a LGBTQ+ helpline. But such no-brainers have not gone without controversy–and Chicago is now looking to be the president’s next target for a so-called “crime crackdown.” But so far, Pritzker seems ready to fight back with even more Captain-Obvious-no-brainers, tweeting on Saturday: “We’ll continue to follow the law, stand up for the sovereignty of our state, and protect Illinoisans.”

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