Pritzker signs bill protecting medical records for abortion patients in Illinois

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.’”

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 a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.