Staunchly Defending Abortion Rights, Expanded Reproductive Access, and Gender-Affirming Care

I will always fight to protect reproductive justice and abortion access. In my time serving in the Illinois Senate, I’ve been a staunch supporter and legislative leader on abortion rights. In 2021, I whipped and secured votes to repeal the arcane Parental Notification Act, which imposed parental notification requirements on reproductive healthcare. I also have pushed for and helped secure millions of dollars each year in the state budget to fund expanded capacity and access to abortion in Illinois, including for those medical refugees fleeing states where abortion has been outlawed with the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

I also was a member of the Reproductive Health Care Working Group in the Illinois Senate that developed and passed the landmark Patient and Provider Protection Act in 2023, legislation that protects and expands access to both reproductive rights and gender-affirming care. The legislation includes protections to shield health care providers from facing disciplinary actions when treating patients from states with abortion bans.

I have also supported legislation to expand funding and capacity for rape crisis centers, and supported HB5441 in 2022 that protects survivors of sexual assault by amending the Illinois Criminal Code to specify that someone is unable to give consent when intoxicated, even when the accused assaulter didn’t provide the substance that intoxicated them. I also supported legislation that expands access for trauma-informed sexual assault treatment and boosted these critical services at federally qualified health centers.

In Congress I will fight to codify Roe v. Wade and the generational right to bodily autonomy it gave to millions of people and repeal the Hyde Amendment which bars federal funding from being used to pay for abortions. I will go toe to toe with mean-spirited Republicans and clueless Democrats who try to further erode reproductive rights. I will also advocate for increases in federal funding to expand access points for reproductive health care at community clinics and federally qualified health clinics. I will use my voice, platform, and my own lived experiences - growing up in a household of women across multiple generations who were regularly devalued by our health care systems - to bring added urgency and perspective to this issue.