Illinois Moves to Protect Abortion Seekers from Out-of-State Surveillance

A bill would limit police from sharing license plate reader data, as part of the state’s effort to become an abortion sanctuary. 

Volunteer clinic escorts shield a patient from anti-abortion demonstrators at the Hope Clinic For Women in Granite City, Illinois, not far from the Missouri border, in June 2022.

Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP

Lawmakers are advancing pioneering legislation that would protect people traveling to Illinois seeking abortions from being tracked by out-of-state police.

The bill, approved by the Illinois Senate Friday night, would prohibit local police from sharing data collected by license plate readers with out-of-state law enforcement departments that seek to use it in abortion-related investigations.