(CNN) While a wave of Republican-led states have recently pushed laws restricting abortion, Illinois and Nevada moved legislation forward Friday aimed at protecting access to the procedure. The Illinois Legislature has sent Senate Bill 25, also called the Reproductive Health Act, to the governor's desk that would protect the "fundamental rights of individuals to make autonomous decisions about one's own reproductive health." The measure passed the Illinois Democratic-led Senate late Friday with a 34-20 vote. Under the bill, pregnant women have the "fundamental right" to have an abortion and a "fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights." It repeals the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975, which penalized doctors for performing the procedure, and the state's ban on partial-birth abortions.

Source: CNN June 01, 2019 16:07 UTC