Illinois allocates $24M for ‘reproductive health initiatives’ expanding abortion in 2026 budget

Illinois’ recently-released budget for 2026 includes $24 million for “reproductive health initiatives” that involve expanding abortion in the state.

According to My Stateline, the funding includes two million dollars in grant funds for freestanding reproductive healthcare clinics (abortion facilities), five million for abortion training, and four million for “birth equity” initiatives, which are defined as efforts that offer “assurance of the conditions of optimal births for all people with a willingness to address racial and social inequities in a sustained effort.”

The funding has been praised by abortion supporters, who say that state-funded abortion is important because so many other states have laws protecting preborn children.

“I think that putting funding into health care in all aspects is extraordinarily important,” State Rep. Amy Briel said, speaking specifically of the abortion funding. “As a legislator, I would like to see that level of funding continue.”

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However, Devin Jones, Republican committeeman of Chicago’s 18th Ward, decried the use of millions of taxpayer dollars going to abortion.

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“Less than one percent of abortions are because of rape or incest, right, so the vast majority are financial and convenience issues,” Jones said. “The fact that we’ve built up a society where men, by and large, have made women feel like they cannot afford to do what their body naturally does, which is to give birth to children. To think that there’s something wrong with that, that you can’t have a career, you can’t have an education, we should not have a society where women can’t have children and can’t go to college, can’t work a job, can’t thrive.”

Illinois has cemented itself as one of the most pro-abortion states in the country, with laws that reflect its extreme stance. During his tenure, Governor J.B. Prtizker has signed multiple pro-abortion bills, including one mandating that both private and taxpayer-funded insurance must fully cover abortions with no co-pays or deductibles, as well as one protecting abortionists who break the law in other states.