skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Advocates Praise Gov. Rauner Signing Bills Protecting Women's Health

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 2, 2016   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Some Illinois reproductive-rights advocates are claiming a win after Governor Bruce Rauner signed new laws aimed at improving women's access to health care. One of the new laws, House Bill 5576, requires that insurance companies in Illinois have to provide coverage for nearly all forms of birth control. That law goes into effect at the start of next year. Currently, coverage is limited to just a few options for contraception.

Lorie Chaiten heads up the ACLU of Illinois' Reproductive Rights Project. She said women who have had to try out multiple forms of birth control have been negatively affected because of out-of-pocket costs and stress on their bodies.

"The insurance companies cannot make me wait months and months before I can get the contraception that my doctor said will be best for me in terms of my health and my well being, and in terms of avoiding unintended pregnancy," she said.

The bill also requires insurance companies to provide 12 months of birth control at one time. The new law was opposed by anti-abortion groups.

Rauner also approved a new amendment to the state's Health Care Right of Conscience Act. That move will now require Catholic hospitals to tell patients where they can get services that would go against church teachings. Chaiten argues the bill balances the needs of patients and religious health-care providers.

"Under our new law, patients will be told about all of their options, and then they will be able to make their own health-care decisions based on full information," she added. "Health-care providers who have religious objections to providing certain kinds of health-care services can continue to raise those objections."

According to the ACLU, Catholic hospitals provide more than a quarter of hospital admissions statewide. Chaiten said the new law will cut down on medical costs for both patients and the state by lowering the number of doctor visits.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021