Overview

• HB 3709, now law, requires public colleges with student-health services to offer medication abortion and contraception beginning in the 2025–26 academic year.
• HB 3637 expands Illinois’ shield protections to a wide range of actors—from clinicians and midwives to pharmacies and wholesale distributors—and permits certain medications to be prescribed for up to a decade even if federal approval changes.
• Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the measures are intended to keep Illinois a safe haven for people traveling from states with abortion bans or restrictions.
• Illinois becomes the first state in the Midwest to require campus access to medication abortion and contraception, according to supporters and advocates cited in the coverage.
• Student advocates were credited with originating the campus policy push, while Republican lawmakers criticized the bills as promoting abortion over maternal supports and raised concerns about medical oversight.