Illinois governor agrees to allow Medicaid for abortions

CHICAGO -- Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner ended months of speculation Thursday and signed legislation allowing state health insurance and Medicaid coverage for abortions, a reversal of the first-term Republican's stance on the proposal last spring.

The Legislature, which is run by Democrats, approved the measure in May but delayed sending it to Rauner until Monday, in part because he has wavered on where he stands.

As a candidate, Rauner supported expanding coverage for abortions but in April said he opposed the legislation, and Illinois should focus on economic issues. Rauner's final word came at a news conference Thursday before signing the bill privately.

He said while he'd talked to advocates on both sides, he always supported abortion rights and had to take action "consistent" with his views.

"The passions, the emotions, the sentiments on both sides of these issues are very powerful. I respect them very much," Rauner said. "I believe that a woman living with limited financial means should not be put in a position where she has to choose something different than a woman of higher income would be able to choose."

The law takes effect immediately. Democrats argued all women should have the same access to abortion services. Republicans said taxpayers shouldn't be forced to fund a morally objectionable procedure, particularly when Illinois has major financial problems.

The annual taxpayer cost of abortions under the measure would be $1.8 million, according to Department of Healthcare and Family Services estimates.

The measure also removes language in Illinois law that states a desire to criminalize abortion if a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing the procedure is overturned.

Democrats initially sold the bill as a means of keeping abortion legal if Roe v. Wade were dumped.

President Donald Trump has promised to nominate Supreme Court justices bent on revisiting Roe.