Illinois Senate OKs repealing abortion parental notification

The Illinois Senate voted Tuesday to repeal a law requiring that parents or guardians be notified when girls younger than 18 seek an abortion

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Senate voted Tuesday to repeal a law requiring that parents or guardians be notified when girls younger than 18 are seeking an abortion.

Building on momentum among abortion-rights activists after September's Texas “heartbeat” law banned most abortions, Democrats who control the General Assembly want to dump the 1995 law requiring notification, which both sides of the debate call the last restriction on abortions in Illinois.

But with a 32-22 tally in favor of repeal, the count fell short of approval of all who make up the Democrats' 41-18 advantage, showing the reticence among moderate Democrats on a law whose proposed repeal now moves to the House with two days left in the General Assembly's fall session.

Republicans repeatedly point out that notification has the support of nearly three-quarters of Illinoisans responding to a poll conducted last spring. And they publicized the nearly 50,000 notices of opposition to the legislation that were filed electronically before the vote.