Pritzker signs bill protecting medical records for abortion patients in
Illinois
[June 25, 2026]
By Nikoel Hytrek and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
CHICAGO — Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Reproductive Health Records
Privacy Act into law on Wednesday, which prevents abortion information
from being shared with out-of-state entities, shielding it so
abortion-seekers are protected from potential retaliation for receiving
legal healthcare in Illinois.
The law was signed on the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court
ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the U.S.
Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. The ruling overturned
Roe v. Wade.
“Today is yet more progress in rejecting the invasion on privacy rights
being perpetrated by states across the country,” Pritzker said at his
bill signing.
“A woman seeking care should not have to wonder whether her private
health information could be used against her,” he continued. “A
healthcare provider should not have to fear that patient records will
become a tool for political prosecution and persecution, and no state
should be allowed to weaponize medical information in an effort to
undermine rights that are protected here.”
The Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act, which takes effect July 1,
2027, requires the separation of information about abortion services or
diagnoses of gender dysphoria from a patient’s digital medical records.
Access to those records are restricted for out-of-state entities and can
only be shared in certain circumstances, with a patient’s consent. The
information would not be deleted, only shielded.
The law was a priority for the governor’s office during the legislative
session, and it passed The General Assembly in the session’s final days.
“Part of protecting our residents, or any individual who comes to
Illinois seeking care, is recognizing when their health data is at
risk,” Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, said at the signing. “We
cannot and will not allow women to live in fear for exercising their
legal rights to choose in Illinois.” Villaneuva sponsored the bill in
the Senate.
In the wake of the Dobbs decision, 20 states have banned or severely
restricted abortion, and Illinois has become a destination for tens of
thousands of abortion-seekers from around the country.
In 2025, approximately 32,000 people sought abortion services in
Illinois, making it the destination for nearly a quarter of the 142,000
people who left their states for those services, according to the
Guttmacher Institute, an independent abortion research organization.
Across the country, there have been cases where women were reported to
law enforcement or social services by healthcare workers after using
abortion medications, and that’s been the case even prior to Roe v. Wade
being overturned.
Pritzker, Villanueva and House sponsor Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington
Heights, said the purpose of the law is to protect abortion-seekers who
could face similar retaliation.
“Across the country, states are passing laws that treat essential
healthcare as a crime,” Canty said. “They’re coming after patients,
they’re coming after doctors, and in Illinois, we’re saying ‘Not here.’”
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Gov. JB Pritzker speaking at the Wednesday bill signing for a new
law that will protect abortion patients’ medical records from
out-of-state retaliation.
The Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act joins a handful of other
Illinois laws that shield patients and providers from out-of-state
investigations and prosecutions.
“Healthcare records exist to treat patients, not surveil and punish
them,” Pritzker said. “I will always stand firmly on the side of
privacy, dignity, and freedom, and this bill is yet another example of
what has become a defining commitment of our state.”
Abortion as a political issue
Since 2019, Pritzker has signed multiple laws to reduce barriers to
accessing abortion and supported programs to strengthen Illinois’
ability to provide healthcare to anyone who needs it. He has also put
his own money behind a political advocacy group aimed at fighting for
abortion rights across the U.S.
Darren Bailey, his Republican opponent in the 2026 race for governor,
has long opposed abortion, having called abortion protections “pure
evil” in 2023 and celebrating the end of Roe v. Wade. For the March 2026
primaries, Illinois Right to Life rated him and his running mate Aaron
Del Mar “fully pro-life” candidates, indicating that they don’t support
abortion exceptions for rape or incest, either.
Del Mar told Capitol News Illinois before the signing that abortion
isn’t a top priority for their campaign, though, and he recognized that
abortion is popular with a majority of Illinoisans.
“We want to make sure that we represent everybody in Illinois and not
just one party or one side,” he said. “Like Darren and I may hold
different personal views and beliefs, we feel that it’s important to
govern all people.”
If Bailey did win and attempt to ban abortion or remove protections, he
would face opposition from the Democratic supermajority in the General
Assembly, and the measure likely wouldn’t go anywhere.
Pritzker said the work of protecting abortion access is “never
finished.”
“Today, in Illinois, with the signing of the Reproductive Health Records
Privacy Act, we take another step to fortify our firewall of protection
for women,” Pritzker said. “As long as I’m governor, Illinois will
continue standing on the side of reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy,
and the simple belief that women, not politicians, should make their own
healthcare decisions.”
Capitol News Illinois is
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coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
