Religious Group’s Challenge To Illinois Law Requiring Insurers Cover Abortions Rejected

SPRINGFIELD, IL — A Sangamon County judge last week upheld a key provision of Illinois' Reproductive Health Act, rejecting a religious organization's legal challenge to the law that requires state-regulated health insurance plans to cover both pregnancy care and abortion services.

The Springfield-based Illinois Baptist State Association filed a lawsuit in 2020 contending that the law violated its religious beliefs, arguing that a mandate to offer health insurance plans that include abortion coverage imposed a substantial burden on its free exercise of religion under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Earlier this month, Associate Judge Christopher Perrin sided with the Illinois Department of Insurance, granting its motion for summary judgment in the case. Representatives of the Baptist group indicated they plan to appeal.

In his Sept. 4 ruling, the judge emphasized that the Illinois Baptist State Association had not demonstrated how the law substantially burdened its religious exercise.

Perrin pointed out that the association had the option to select insurance plans that do not include abortion coverage, such as federally managed plans or plans from out-of-state insurers that are not subject to the Illinois Department of Insurance’s regulations.

“These alternatives provide flexibility for organizations to maintain insurance coverage without conflicting with their religious beliefs,” Perrin said in his order.

"The Illinois Department of Insurance has presented uncontested evidence that alternative insurance plans excluding abortion care are available to the Illinois Baptist State Association," he said. "Despite these alternatives, the Illinois Baptist State Association chose not to pursue such options."

Attorney General Kwame Raoul, whose office represented the state in the lawsuit, welcomed the decision. In a statement following the ruling, Raoul described it as a significant victory in the ongoing fight for reproductive health care rights in Illinois.

“This decision is a win in a years-long fight that is by no means over. My office is continuing to fight for reproductive care on all fronts because abortion care is health care. Full stop," Raoul said.

"We are committed to protecting access to comprehensive reproductive health care that includes abortion," he added. "However, coverage for reproductive health care is just as critical as access to reproductive health care. We will continue to fight to ensure that all women are able to access the reproductive and abortion care they need and deserve without having to worry about the cost.”

Nate Adams, the executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, said in a statement he was deeply disappointed with the ruling.

“The Sept. 4 ruling discounts the beliefs of over 150,000 Illinois Baptists, as well as all Illinoisans who hold these same sacred convictions, by requiring all insurance coverage in our state to pay for abortion on demand, without a clear pathway for religious exemptions for churches or faith-based ministries,” Adams said.

“We stand by our position that the Reproductive Health Act is inconsistent with the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act," he added.

According to the association's communications director, it partnered with the Thomas More Society, which provided free legal services to the religious group.

The Illinois Reproductive Health Act, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June 2019, establishes abortion as a fundamental right in Illinois and ensures that insurance plans covering pregnancy care must also cover abortion.

The act was passed in anticipation of potential challenges to Roe v. Wade, which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned in 2022 with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.