Young People! The Application for Action Out Loud! is now available.
Click here to download the application. Visit ICAH's Teen Link for more information.

Save the Date for ICAH's 4th Annual Spring Affair
Join us on Sunday, May 18 for a champagne brunch at The Society For Arts with Keynote Speaker Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Emcee Debby Herbenick from Time Out Chicago.

Click here for event tickets or to purchase raffle tickets.

Raffle prizes include:
* Shopping sprees in Chicago's trendiest neighborhoods * Relaxing sessions with Chicago's most talented stylists, massage therapists, yoga teachers, and personal trainers * Mouth-watering treats from local chocolatiers, and wine merchants * and much more!

Young Women in Illinois at Risk of Losing Access to Abortion
Despite the U.S. District Court's recent ruling that the 1995 Parental Notice of Abortion Act remains unconstitutional, Attorney General Lisa Madigan once again filed an appeal. The Attorney General has asked the court to reinstate the 1995 law that requires minors to notify a parent prior to an abortion or seek permission from a judge to give their own consent for the procedure without parental involvement. 

Parental notification and consent laws put many young women, particularly those from low-income communities, in situations that jeopardize their health and well-being. Some youth live in dangerous homes - they might be kicked out of their homes, beaten, or worse. Laws that require young women who cannot involve their parents in the decision to have an abortion to do so often compels them to travel out of state or seek a judicial bypass in order to access services. Judicial bypasses, although usually granted, are time consuming, stressful, and absurd. If a young women is afraid to tell her parents she is pregnant, she is often not going to feel safe talking to a judge in a strange courthouse. Moreover, judicial bypasses delay the medical care and counseling that a pregnant young woman desperately needs. Delaying the procedure can increase the price and decrease the number of physicians willing to provide the service. For all young women, particularly those with limited financial means and ability to navigate the judicial system, parental notification and consent laws often deny them their right to an abortion. 
   
Call the AG's office at 312.814.3000 (Chicago office) or 217.782.1090 (Springfield office) and urge Lisa Madigan to allow young women to retain the right to make their own reproductive health decisions. 

Oppose Parental Notification or Consent for Abortion
Since its inception, ICAH has opposed mandated parental notification and consent laws. Although these laws attempt to appeal to societal values about the relationship between parents and their children, the government cannot successfully legislate good family dynamics or mandate effective and positive communication between family members.

We hope all Illinoisans committed to protecting the right of young women to freely access the full-range of reproductive health care services will join us in our efforts to ensure that these dangerous laws are not enacted or enforced in Illinois.

Sign our on-line petition supporting reproductive freedom for young women.

Print and circulate our petition supporting reproductive freedom for young women.

Read ICAH's position statement on parental notification and consent laws.

Read ICAH's issue brief on parental notification and consent laws.

ICAH thanks A-Z Printing for their support. For custom printed raffle tickets, visit www.raffleticket.com.