Illinois residents seeking reproductive health care will soon have additional protections for their private medical information.

Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation backed by State Senator Celina Villanueva aimed at safeguarding reproductive health records, including abortion-related medical information, from unauthorized access and out-of-state entities.

The measure, known as the Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act, requires health information exchanges to limit access to abortion-related records, prevent most sharing of that data across state lines, and separate abortion information from other portions of a patient's medical record.
Villanueva says the law is designed to protect patient privacy following the 2022 overturning of Roe versus Wade.

The law also allows patients to seek civil action if their privacy rights are violated and gives individuals the option to authorize sharing their reproductive health information with specific providers outside Illinois.

House Bill 5295 takes effect July 1st, 2027.