Another Letter To The Editor In Support Of HB 6205
This Letter to the Editor was published in the Northwestern Herald on. Click here for the online version.
Facts on RHAA
To the editor:
Opponents of HB 6205, the Reproductive Health and Access Act (RHAA), are making numerous unsubstantiated claims about the requirements in the bill.
To set the record straight, here are the facts: HB 6205 allows for local control, with public school districts being able to choose the curriculum for sexual health education, and parents being able to opt out.
HB 6205 does not allow abortion for any reason at any time during pregnancy. Like current law, HB 6205 bans abortion after viability unless it is necessary to save a woman’s life or health.
HB 6205 clearly states that it does not “repeal, amend, or otherwise change the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995,” and does not “repeal, amend, or otherwise change the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.”
Because of its provisions regarding prevention, HB 6205 will at least be revenue neutral.
The Illinois Department of Health and Family Services signed a witness slip in support of HB 6205.
The Illinois State Medical Society is neutral on HB 6205.
Supporters of HB 6205 include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Illinois Public Health Association, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and Protestants for the Common Good.
Shelly Nicholson
McHenry
22
03 2010
Letter To The Editor In Support Of HB 6205
This Letter to the Editor was published in the Daily Herald on 3/20/2010. Click here for the online version.
Supports woman’s right to choose
I am writing in support of HB 6205, the Reproductive Health and Access Act. This act would protect the right of Illinois women to health care choices throughout their reproductive lifetimes, from honest, comprehensive sex education to access to quality birth control, prenatal care, and the right to choose abortion.
It would guarantee Illinois women the ability to use or refuse contraception and ensure that they are able to make their own personal decisions about when and whether to have a child, and to control their own reproductive health care decisions.
Passage of HB 6205 is imperative because there are always proposed pieces of legislation harmful to women’s reproductive rights, and there are many legislators who wish to wrest control of women’s individual rights from them and to dictate as to which types of health care women are entitled.
We must ensure that government will not interfere with women’s personal decision-making and allow us to base our decisions on our own personal values and our doctors’ advice.
HB 6205 does not make any changes to the Parental Notification of Abortion Act of 1995 or to the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
Sheila Feeney
Algonquin
22
03 2010
What is the Reproductive Health & Access Act?
The Reproductive Health and Access Act (RHAA) is legislation that gives women in Illinois a continuum of information and choices throughout their reproductive lives including, responsible sexual health education, access to quality birth control, the ability to access prenatal care, and the right to choose an abortion. This is a bill about comprehensive reproductive health care for women.
The bill requires all Illinois public schools to teach medically accurate, age appropriate, comprehensive sexual health education so that young women and men can make responsible decisions. Parents retain the right to remove their children from classes if they do not want them to participate.
RHAA makes sure that government-funded health care programs, like Medicaid, cover basic reproductive health care services like family planning, prenatal care, and pap tests as they do for other health care services.
In response to questions that were raised in the 2009 legislative session, RHAA has been revised by sponsors and supporters. The revised version focuses more directly on providing access to and education about reproductive health care.
Why Do We Need the Reproductive Health & Access Act in Illinois?
Women have the right to a continuum of choices throughout their reproductive lives — from honest sexual health education to access to quality birth control, prenatal care, and the right to choose abortion.
We need to ensure that a woman has information about and access to as many responsible options as possible when it comes to making important personal decisions about her reproductive health care.
This bill guarantees everyone the ability to use or refuse contraception and ensures that every woman is able to make her own personal decisions about when and whether to have a child and to control her own reproductive health without interference.
It ensures that the government cannot interfere with women’s personal decision-making based on their own values and their doctors’ advice.
