
Illinois could be the
SAFEST PLACE IN THE NATION
for reproductive
healthcare
Copyright 2022 Holistic Birth Collective NFP
The RLJA amends existing statutes to 1) remove from Illinois law punitive action by the state in response to Substance Use Disorder among pregnant and birthing people, 2) provides equitable treatment for parents of stillborn babies in receiving vital records of their babies’ births, and 3) clearly establishes violations of people’s rights in childbirth as human rights violations under the Illinois Human Rights Act, expanding the avenues for justice and accountability for such violations.
View the bill on the Illinois General Assembly website here:
The Reproductive Liberty & Justice Act promotes just treatment under the Illinois law for pregnant, birthing and parenting people in Illinois in three distinct ways..
Sections 5, 15, 20, 30, 40, & 45
Sections 5, 15, 20, 30, 40, & 45
Sections 10 & 35
Sections 25 & 50
The Reproductive Liberty & Justice Act promotes just treatment under the Illinois law for pregnant, birthing and parenting people in Illinois in three distinct ways..
Sections 5, 15, 20, 30, 40, & 45
Sections 10 & 35
Sections 25 & 50
Plans of Safe Care. The Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery, in consultation with the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative or its successor organization, shall develop a standardized Plan of Safe Care form to support discharge planning for mothers and infants affected by prenatal substance exposure. Plans of Safe Care shall not be recorded in the State Central Registry described in Section 7 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and shall not be discoverable or admissible as evidence in any proceeding pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or the Adoption Act unless the named party waives his or her right to confidentiality in writing.
As used in this Section, “Plan of Safe Care” means a written or electronic document designed to ensure the safety and well-being of a newborn who has been identified by his or her health care provider as being affected by prenatal substance exposure or withdrawal symptoms, or a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and his or her gestational parent.
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For more info: https://health.ny.gov/prevention/captacara/
Requires hospitals to notify bereaved parents of their right to request and receive a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth via a written form to be known as a “Liam’s Law notice”
(325 ILCS 5/4.4)
Sec. 4.4. DCFS duty to report to State’s Attorney. Whenever the Department receives, by means of its statewide toll-free telephone number established under Section 7.6 for the purpose of reporting suspected child abuse or neglect or by any other means or from any mandated reporter under Section 4, a report of a newborn infant whose blood, urine, or meconium contains any amount of a controlled substance as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or a metabolite thereof, with the exception of a controlled substance or metabolite thereof whose presence in the newborn infant is the result of medical treatment administered to the mother or the newborn infant, the Department must immediately report that information to the State’s Attorney of the county in which the infant was born.
(Source: P.A. 95-361, eff. 8-23-07.)
Repeals Section 3.4 of the Medical Patient Rights Act to replace with new Article 5B of the Illinois Human Rights Act (See Rights of Patients Receiving Maternity Care)
Amends the Illinois Health & Hazardous Substances Registry Act to codify current Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Reporting System (APORS) reporting protocol to reflect inclusion of Substance Affected Infants.
Moves the threshold for a fetal death to be considered a stillbirth from 26 weeks gestation to 20 weeks gestation.
Changes nomenclature from “certificate of stillbirth” to “certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth” to prevent the potential to confuse certificate of stillbirth with fetal death certificate
Positive toxicology result cannot be used as evidence of child neglect nor as grounds to establish parent unfitness
Sec. 5B-101. Rights of patients; maternity care; disclosure of medical information.
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For an extra resource on Birth Rights check out this PDF by Birth Rights Bar Association.
reproductive health care in Illinois
in Illinois under the Reproductive Health Act of 2019:
(775 ILCS 55/1-15)
Sec. 1-15. Fundamental Reproductive Health Rights
Every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual’s own reproductive health, including the fundamental right to use or refuse reproductive health care.
Every individual who becomes pregnant has a fundamental right to continue the pregnancy and give birth or to have an abortion, and to make autonomous decisions about how to exercise that right.
Do YOU know the universal human rights for maternity care patients?
If we want to defend them, we’ve got to know them!
RLJA amends existing statutes to remove from the Illinois law punitive action by the state in response to Substance Use Disorder among pregnant and birthing people.
HBC proudly partners with Pregnancy Justice in demanding that NO PERSON should fear arrest or be subjected to government control or retribution as a result of pregnancy or any outcome of pregnancy.
RLJA is how we actively seek to remove systems of harm that wrap families in fear to replace them with systems of care that wrap families in support and dignity.
CONTEXT MATTERS
[1] Punitive substance use policies are one of the major ways Illinois enacts pregnancy criminalization. In states with punitive PSUPs, prenatal substance use is either:
Yet public health research consistently finds punitive state policies are associated with:
[i] Angélica Meinhofer, Allison Witman, Johanna Catherine Maclean, and Yuhua Bao. “Prenatal substance use policies and newborn health.” Health Economics 31 (2022): 1452-1467.
*, *** Virginia A. Reising, Ashley Horne, and Amanda C. Bennett. “The interaction of neonatal abstinence syndrome and opioid use disorder treatment availability for women insured by Medicaid.” Public Health Nursing 38 (2021): 98-105
** March of Dimes. Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. (2022 Report). Arlington, VA: March of Dimes, 2022.
March of Dimes research link HERE.
States with Punitive Prenatal
Substance Use Policies
Across the entire state, there is only one resource that offers comprehensive integrated prenatal care and substance use treatment, which is considered the gold standard of care.”
[i] Angélica Meinhofer, Allison Witman, Johanna Catherine Maclean, and Yuhua Bao. “Prenatal substance use policies and newborn health.” Health Economics 31 (2022): 1452-1467.
*, *** Virginia A. Reising, Ashley Horne, and Amanda C. Bennett. “The interaction of neonatal abstinence syndrome and opioid use disorder treatment availability for women insured by Medicaid.” Public Health Nursing 38 (2021): 98-105
** March of Dimes. Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. (2022 Report). Arlington, VA: March of Dimes, 2022.
March of Dimes research link HERE.
Download the One-Pager to share and learn more!
RLJA amends existing statutes to provide equitable treatment for parents of stillborn babies in receiving vital records of their babies’ births.
HBC proudly partners with Gifts from Liam to increase awareness and share education to prevent pregnancy and infant loss and support families who have experienced the death of a baby.
The Liam’s Law Notice “Corrects deficiencies in the implementation of Public Act 93-578, such that all families affected by stillbirth are treated with dignity and respect by this State.”
As of January 2023, 45 states, including Illinois, have enacted laws that grant bereaved parents of a stillborn child the option to request and receive a certificate recognizing the stillbirth that is separate from a fetal death certificate.
Illinois was among the earliest states to enact legislation creating an optional certificate of stillbirth after the General Assembly passed Public Act 93-578 in 2003.
Unfortunately, implementation of Public Act 93-578 was unsuccessful and most bereaved parents were not informed that this option was available to them. In fact, only 71 certificates were issued in the first 10 years. Liam was stillborn in Cook County at 40 weeks gestation. Liam’s birth was in 2016, 13 years after P.A. 93-578 became law [410 ILCS 535/20.5]. His mother was only given a fetal death certificate and not informed that she could also receive a certificate of stillbirth.
Liam’s Law Notice adds clarifying language to Sections 20 and 20.5 of the Vital Records Act [410 ILCS 535/20.5] so that Illinois statute is more consistent with the recommendations of the National Center for Health Statistics. Furthermore, Liam’s Law Notice adds a new section to the Hospital Licensing Act [210 ILCS 85] requiring hospitals to provide written notification to patients who have suffered a stillbirth of their right to request and receive a certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth. The form for this written notice shall be developed by the Department of Public Health, in consultation with each Community Action Team for the two Illinois-based Fetal Infant and Mortality Review projects.
Download the one-pager to share and learn more!
RLJA amends existing statutes to clearly establish violations of people’s rights in childbirth as human rights violations under the Illinois Human Rights Act, expanding the avenues for justice and accountability for such violations.
Though it can happen to anyone, these situations result in higher likelihood to have rights violated when receiving maternity care:
Source: Birth Rights Bar Association
Pregnant and birthing people retain the rights to:
Yet these rights (and more) are routinely violated, causing physical, mental and emotional harms to birthing people and their families.
RLJA offers additional remedies for those harmed by violations including proceedings before the Illinois Human Rights Commission and potential enforcement by the Attorney General.
If we want to defend them, we’ve got to know them!
Download the one-pager to share and learn more.
R
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Please encourage others to read about RLJA on our website or via the “One-Pager,” which you can download here:
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Reach out to us at HBC or the RLJA’s Chief sponsor in the House, Rep. Mary Flowers if you have questions, concerns or suggestions about the contents of the bill.
J
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Join the list of supporters to add your logo to the materials distributed to the public and to legislators!
READ
Please encourage others to read about HB003 on our website or via the “One-Pager,” which you can download here:
REACH
Reach out to us at HBC or the RLJA’s Chief sponsor in the House, Rep. Mary Flowers if you have questions, concerns or suggestions about the contents of the bill.
JOIN
Join the list of supporters to add your logo to the materials distributed to the public and to legislators!
Let’s make Illinois the
SAFEST PLACE IN
THE NATION
for reproductive
healthcare
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