CHICAGO — Chicago moved one step closer to becoming a “Bodily Autonomy Sanctuary City” Thursday when a City Council committee advanced a proposal to ban local police from assisting out-of-state law enforcement with investigating people who travel here for abortions.
The Health Committee voted unanimously Thursday to send the proposed ordinance to the full council floor, where it’s expected to receive a vote later this month. The move comes as progressive aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have ramped up efforts to safeguard reproductive rights in the past two months, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The idea of Chicago becoming a safe haven for abortion rights dovetails with its decadeslong history as a sanctuary city for immigrants, a status that was strengthened under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 2012 “Welcoming City” ordinance. Ahead of Thursday’s vote, chief sponsor Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez, 33rd, said the immigrant rights movement provided a “blueprint” to others in need of refuge.
