For Immediate Release: October 28, 2021
Contact: media@napawf.org

(CHICAGO, ILLINOIS) — Late Wednesday evening, legislators in both the Illinois state house and senate repealed the Parental Notification of Abortion (PNA) Act. 

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)’s Chicago Chapter, in coalition with over 60 organizations in Illinois, worked tirelessly to repeal this harmful and outdated law which took away young people’s access to reproductive health care for over eight years. 

Statement from Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF):

“Last night, Illinois did the right thing and repealed PNA, which placed unnecessary burdens on youth seeking reproductive health and abortion care. Everyone should have the agency to make decisions for their own lives, families and communities.

When faced with unintended pregnancy, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth have to contend with additional barriers such as language access and cultural stigmas. In many households, there is often little or no open communication around reproductive health and access. Because of this, many AAPI youth fear damaging their relationships with their parents and guardians if they find out that they are accessing abortion care.

During this global pandemic, access to abortion care continues to be an essential service that everyone, including youth, need access to.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.