Illinois state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) worries that the state is putting itself more on an island no one wants to be on with its push for a repeal of the state’s parental notification law with regard to abortion.
“This is just another way in which Illinois is massively departing from the norm nationwide,” Mazzochi told the DuPage Policy Journal. “I think it’s fair to say, certainly in my district, there is great concern about the lack of parental notification.”
On the heels of the passage of the Reproductive Health Act just signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that establishes abortion in the state as a “fundamental right” for women, a repeal of parental notification would strip away statutes requiring a minor to alert her parents that she plans to have an abortion within 48 hours of having the procedure, and punishes any physician who does not comply.
Illinois state Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst)
“This is one of those areas where I think people need to speak up and make their voices known and, certainly when it came to my office, people have made their voices heard and known,” Mazzochi said. “Even among people who call themselves pro-choice and have more of a moderate view, they’re not comfortable with removing parental notice.”
Currently, at least 15 states, including neighboring Iowa, have laws that require parental notice prior to a minor being able to have an abortion.
“Up until a couple years ago, a lot of the abortion laws on the books in Illinois represented the result of negotiation and compromise as to what was or wasn’t reasonable,” Mazzochi said. “The recent bill essentially swept away decades of negotiated truces and compromise in favor of one of the most lopsided pro-abortion bills in the nation.”
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