Illinois bill would charge parents with abuse for trying to prevent a minor’s abortion

A new bill introduced in Illinois is causing alarm among parental rights groups.

HB4876 was introduced by Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, and would amend the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act to include children denied “necessary medical care” as being victims of abuse. While being denied legitimate health care is, in fact, abusive, Stava-Murray included both abortion and “gender-affirming care” as “necessary medical care” — so if a parent refuses to allow their child to have an abortion, they can be charged with abuse.

It also reaffirms that children can consent to obtaining an abortion or “gender-affirming care” without needing approval from a parent.

Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that “abused child” means a child whose parent or immediate family member, or any person responsible for the child’s welfare, or any individual residing in the same home as the child, or a paramour of the child’s parent denies the child access to necessary medical care, including, but not limited to, primary care services, abortion services, or gender-affirming services. Amends the Consent by Minors to Health Care Services Act. Specifies that consent to the performance of abortion services and gender-affirming services executed by a minor is not voidable because of such minority. Provides that a health care professional rendering abortion services and gender-affirming services shall not incur civil or criminal liability for failure to obtain valid consent or professional discipline for failure to obtain valid consent if the health care professional relied in good faith on representations made by the minor.

Calls have already begun for Stava-Murray to withdraw the bill.

Illinois is already one of the most pro-abortion states in the country, with Governor J.B. Pritzker — the wealthiest politician in the country — announcing his goal to make abortion a right in the state constitution last year. Pritzker already repealed parental notification laws in 2021, meaning a minor child can already undergo an abortion without their parents even being notified that the procedure took place. As State Sen. Sally Turner said at the time, “A minor cannot receive aspirin from a school nurse without the consent of their parents. Yet, the governor just signed a bill which will allow minors to undergo a very serious medical procedure without their parents ever knowing.”

With HB4876, parents presumably would not only be left out of the decision by a child to have an abortion — they could also face child abuse charges if they are deemed as attempting to prevent it. Though Pritzker, in announcing his constitutional abortion push, denounced the notion of extremism, saying it poses an “existential threat to democracy,” what could possibly be more extreme than stripping parents of their rights and then threatening them jail for attempting to exercise them?

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