Letter: Protect women’s access to safe reproductive health care

To the Editor:

As a longtime OB/GYN, I know what’s at stake if women who need reproductive health care lose access to it. Since the Dobbs decision by SCOTUS, there are now states that can charge me with a crime if I provide abortion services to a patient. How did we get here? By taking our eyes off the courts.

Our Supreme Court is the last line of defense in protecting full access to reproductive health care in Illinois. That’s why I am writing to encourage 2nd District residents to vote for Judge Elizabeth Rochford for Illinois Supreme Court. Rochford, a 10-year Lake County judge whose qualifications and experience have readied her for this bench.

Judge Rochford comes “highly recommended” by the Illinois State Bar Association and by many others. She’s a longtime champion for women and has the support of leading pro-choice and women’s groups, labor organizations and many more.

Her opponent, Mark Curran, has a long history of being anti-choice. He’s participated in anti-abortion rallies and donated his own campaign funds to Illinois Citizens for Life. He praised Donald Trump for appointing Supreme Court justices who later went on to overturn Roe v. Wade and later celebrated the Dobbs decision.

If we want to protect women’s access to safe, effective reproductive health care throughout Illinois, we need to get out and vote in this election. Make a plan to vote early or on Nov. 8. And vote for Judge Elizabeth Rochford for Illinois Supreme Court, 2nd District

Therese K. Hughes, MD

Lake Forest