RHAA

CLAIM: HB 6205 is a “RADICAL” bill that is far out of the mainstream.

TRUTH: Poll after poll shows that most Americans and Illinoisans believe that private and personal decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion, are best left to a woman in consultation with her doctor.

Most women use contraception at some point during their reproductive years. The overwhelming majority of couples plans their families and use contraception to do so.

Illinoisans overwhelmingly support teaching comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual health education in public schools. In fact, most people assume it is already being taught in all public schools and are surprised to hear that it isn’t

CLAIM: HB 6205 threatens the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

TRUTH: It is not the intention of the bill’s sponsor or supporters to use HB 6205 to amend or repeal the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The 2009 RHAA language making changes to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act is not included in the 2010 RHAA. Furthermore, the sponsor intends to offer a committee amendment providing additional clarification that the bill does not change or repeal the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

CLAIM: HB 6205 threatens the Parental Notification of Abortion Act of 1995.

TRUTH: It is not the intention of the bill’s sponsors or supporters to use HB 6205 to change or repeal the Parental Notification Act of 1995. Section 40 of HB 6205 states, “nothing in this Act shall be construed to repeal the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995.” Furthermore, the sponsor intends to offer a committee amendment providing additional clarification that the bill does not change or repeal the Parental Notification Act of 1995.

CLAIM: Under HB 6205 a woman could sue a county hospital for not providing her with an abortion, which could lead to every county hospital in Illinois being forced to provide abortions.

TRUTH: HB 6205 does not create an affirmative obligation on the part of the government to provide specific medical services. HB 6205 prohibits government from creating laws or policies that erect obstacles to people accessing health care. (For example, a municipality passing zoning laws that prohibit abortions from occurring in the city or ordinances that impost medically unnecessary physical plant requirements)

PREGNANCY TERMINATION

CLAIM: HB 6205 will allow abortion for virtually any reason for the full 9 months of pregnancy.

TRUTH: HB 6205 keeps the standard that is current Illinois law. Right now and under HB 6205 abortion is banned after viability (when a fetus can live outside the uterus) unless it is necessary to save a woman’s life or health.

CLAIM: HB 6205 requires Catholic hospitals to refer patients for abortions “in a timely manner,” something which the Catholic hospital system will not do.

TRUTH: Nothing in HB 6205 requires Catholic hospitals – or any hospital for that matter – to make a referral for an abortion. Catholic hospitals would still have all of the protections afforded them under the current Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

CLAIM: HB 6205 would eliminate regulation of abortion in Illinois.

TRUTH: HB 6205 protects women by requiring that physicians to perform abortions “in accordance with accepted standards of medical practice”. If medical professionals fail to follow accepted standards, they could be subject to legal liability. They could also be subject to all licensing and disciplinary standards that currently apply under the Medical Practice Act and other health care provider licensing statutes.

HB 6205 keeps current law by banning abortions after viability (when the fetus can live outside the uterus) except in cases when the woman’s life or health is threatened.

HB 6205 also includes reporting requirements as required in current law.

CLAIM: HB 6205 affords medical professionals performing abortions unprecedented liability protections.

TRUTH: Under HB 6205, medical professionals who perform abortions are subject to the same liability as any other medical professional performing any other medical procedure.  Moreover, they are required to perform abortions “in accordance with accepted standards of medical practice”.

CLAIM: Abortion and contraceptives raise a woman’s risk for breast cancer.

TRUTH: Anti-choice claims linking abortion and breast cancer fly in the face of scientific evidence. The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have all refuted the reliability of such an association.

Despite its proven track record, the Pill is still dogged by myths and misconceptions about its safety and efficacy. The notion that contraceptives cause breast cancer is based on conventional wisdom, not scientific fact. In reality, the Pill can be a viable option for mist women.

NON-DISCRIMINATION IN FUNDING

CLAIM: HB 6205 requires public funding for abortions.

TRUTH: HB 6205 states that reproductive health care, including abortion, should be covered at least to the same extent as other comparable services. Therefore, the decision about an abortion should be made between the Medicaid enrolled woman and her physician as it is currently with other medical procedures covered by Medicaid.

The Illinois Medicaid Program already provides coverage for abortions in cases of rape/incest or in cases when it is necessary to protect the woman’s health or life. The decision about whether or not an abortion is necessary to protect a woman’s life or health is left to the treating physician.

In the past, anti-choice extremists have attempted to remove the health exception and limit the rape/incest exceptions through legislation. The reason, they claimed, was that these exceptions are large loopholes that allow almost any woman on Medicaid to have an abortion covered. Now they claim that HB 6205 is a “RADICAL departure from current Illinois law regarding abortion, public funding of abortion . . .” because it is an expansion. It seems that they use whatever reasoning serves them at the time.

CLAIM: HB 6205 will require State programs like Medicaid to pay for reproductive health care such as contraception.

TRUTH: Yes, this is true.  But, this is not a “RADICAL departure” as the opponents’ materials would have people believe.  The Illinois Medicaid Program (as well programs like Illinois Healthy Women and DHS Family Planning) already cover reproductive health care services including contraception.  Women and their children are healthier when pregnancies are adequately spaced.  Moreover, access to family planning services is a key to financial self-sufficiency for many women and their families.  For these reasons, State Programs have offered family planning coverage to low-income women for decades.

HB 6205 will protect the reproductive health care services that are already offered in State programs to make sure that women will have access to them both now and in the future.

The opponents of HB 6205 do not want access to contraception.  They want to turn back the clock on women’s ability to plan their families.

COMPREHENSIVE SEXUAL HEALTH EDUCATION

CLAIM: Local control would be undermined by HB 6205’s requirement of comprehensive sex education.

TRUTH: HB 6205 does require Illinois public schools to include age-appropriate, comprehensive sexual health education in their Comprehensive Health Education classes.  However, local control would be maintained because local school districts would decide which curriculum to use.

Parents are the ultimate decision makers, as HB 6205 allows parents to choose not to have their children participate in age-appropriate, medically accurate, sexual health education if they do not wish to have them participate

CLAIM: Catholic schools would not be allowed to teach about abstinence until marriage.

TRUTH: It is not the intention of the bill’s sponsor or supporters to regulate the teaching of sex education in private, religious schools.  HB 6205 is clear that it applies to public schools.

CLAIM: HB 6205 mandates comprehensive sex-ed “condom training” in elementary and high school, even for children as young as kindergarten – OR -HB 6205 would mandate “condom training” and abortion for students as young as 9 years old.

TRUTH: HB 6205 requires comprehensive sexual health education to be age-appropriate.  Therefore, children in kindergarten would NOT be given so-called “condom training”.  In fact, the words “condom training” do not appear anywhere in the bill. HB 6205 does not specify about when or whether anything about abortion should be taught in sex education classes. Moreover, the bill does not specific any ages for when certain things should be taught.

CLAIM: HB 6205 takes decisions about sex ed out of the hands of parents.

TRUTH: HB 6205 allows parents to remove their children from age appropriate, medically accurate sexual  education classes if they so choose.