Illinois Gov. Pritzker Signs Bill Shielding License Plate Data of Women Seeking Abortions in State

Illinois gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker in an Oct. 2018 file photograph. Joshua Lott/Getty Images

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed legislation this month shielding the license plate data of women coming to the state for abortions and reproductive health care services.

House Bill 3326 was introduced by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat, and sponsored by state Rep. Ann Williams and state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz along with Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois.

It was passed by the General Assembly earlier this summer.

The legislation amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to state that an automated license plate reader (ALPR) user “shall not sell, share, or transfer ALPR information to any state that has enacted laws that deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose or obtain an abortion prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman for the purposes of investigation or enforcement of that law.”

ALPRs are high-speed, computer-controlled camera systems used by traffic and law enforcement officials to capture license plate numbers. Those numbers can then determine various criminal behavior, such as if the vehicle was stolen or if the driver is wanted on criminal charges.

Illinois’s newly passed legislation, which is set to go into effect in January, also allows license plate data to be shielded if it “denies or interferes with a person’s right to choose or obtain reproductive health care services or any lawful health care services” or if it “permits the detention or investigation of a person based on the person’s immigration status.”

House Bill 3326 also provides protections for individuals who are assisting those seeking an abortion in the state.

Pedestrians walk past a Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago, Ill., on May 18, 2018. Scott Olson/Getty Images

ALPR ‘Important Tool for Law Enforcement’

The legislation states that any ALPR user in the state of Illinois, including any law enforcement agency, shall not share the license plate information with an out-of-state law enforcement agency “without first obtaining a written declaration from the out-of-state law enforcement agency that it expressly affirms that ALPR information obtained shall not be used in a manner” that violates the law.

“If a written declaration of affirmation is not executed, the law enforcement agency shall not share the ALPR information with the out-of-state law enforcement agency,” it states.

“ALPR information shall be held confidentially to the fullest extent permitted by law,” the legislation states. “Nothing in this Act shall define or limit any rights under the Reproductive Health Act,” the legislation concludes.

After the legislation was passed by the General Assembly in May, Mr. Giannoulias said license plate readers are an “important tool for law enforcement,” especially when it comes to apprehending suspects in violent crimes or recovering stolen vehicles in carjackings.

However, the Democrat insisted state officials “need to regulate these cameras so they aren’t abused for surveillance, tracking the data of innocent people or criminalizing lawful behavior.”

“No one seeking abortion care in Illinois should be harassed in any fashion, and I’m committed to enabling individuals to pursue and obtain the lawful healthcare they need without government interference,” he said.

‘Targeted Harassment, Criminal Prosecution’

Mr. Giannoulias said the legislation “sets common-sense standards and protocols to ensure that license plate data is used properly” and “reaffirms our state’s commitment to protecting access to a person’s reproductive healthcare in the state of Illinois.”

The Secretary of State added the measure would protect women who are “simply seeking healthcare” from “targeted harassment and criminal prosecution.”

Elsewhere, Ms. Welch cited the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“In our post-Roe reality, more and more healthcare refugees are forced to flee their home states and they shouldn’t have the added fear they are being tracked by their license plate,” Ms. Welch said, adding that the legislation “further cements Illinois’ status as a haven state in the Midwest.”

However, opponents of the measure argue the law could result in safety issues.

“Under this law, a minor girl from Missouri could be brought to Illinois by her abuser to undergo an abortion, and that license plate data couldn’t be used to bring him to justice,” state Sen. Jil Tracy, (R-Quincy) said during the spring legislative session on the bill. “We’re going to perhaps make this too broad and allow a true perpetrator and an abuser to go free and avoid prosecution,” she added.

Illinois is the first state to pass legislation banning ALPR information relating to women seeking abortions from being shared, although a similar law passed in Nashville, Tennessee, in September banning police from using license plate data to help agencies enforce abortion laws.

According to data from the state’s Department of Public Health, an estimated 10,000 women from other states received abortions in Illinois in 2022, marking a nearly 30 percent increase from 2021.