The Illinois Department of Public Health released detailed statistics on the number of abortions performed on girls under the age of 17 in Illinois. Currently, state law does not require these minors to receive parental consent or to notify their parents before having any type of abortion. These statistics include both Illinois residents and Illinois non-residents which may suggest minors are traveling across state borders to evade their state’s parental notice and/or parental consent laws.

Illinois is the only Midwestern state that does not require parental notice and/or parental consent before a minor can have an abortion due to having its enforcement halted by pro-abortion advocates through enjoining the law in court.

The following statistics date back to 1995, the year the Illinois General Assembly passed the Parental Notice of Abortion Act:

Highlighted Statistics in the report include:

Illinois Residents:

5,121 – Abortions Performed on Illinois Residents 14 years old or younger.

54,018 – Abortions Performed on Illinois Residents 15-17 years old.

59,139 – Abortions Performed on Illinois Residents 17 years old or younger.

Non-Illinois Residents:

8,789 –Abortions Performed on non-Illinois Residents 17 years old or younger.

65,620 – Abortions Performed on non-Illinois Residents all ages.

67,928 Documented Abortions Have Been Performed on Underage Children in Illinois Since 1995

At the end of 2012, the Thomas More Society’s Special Counsel, Paul Linton, argued in support of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act before the Illinois Supreme Court challenging the Illinois Attorney General’s concession that there is a right to abortion in the Constitution. The Illinois Supreme Court will issue a final ruling on the legality of the law between now and mid-summer. The Thomas More Society also represents over twenty Illinois State’s Attorneys as “friends of the court” in support of the parental notice law currently pending in the Illinois Supreme Court. See additional information here.