Mayor Lightfoot signs executive order to protect those seeking abortions in Chicago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined Planned Parenthood of Illinois to announce an executive order to protect those seeking reproductive healthcare in Chicago.

Mayor Lightfoot said the executive order prohibits all city departments, including Chicago police and the Chicago Department of Public Health, from cooperating with any investigation or proceeding from other states seeking to either criminally or civilly penalize people seeking reproductive care in Chicago.

"While we cannot stop anti-abortion states from trying to take action in court against providers or patients in Chicago, we can ensure that as a city government, we are never complicit in aiding or abetting those efforts."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces an executive order which prohibits city departments from cooperating with investigations into women seeking abortions.

Mayor Lightfoot said the need for abortions in Chicago from outside residents is already on the rise.

Several aldermen also plan to present an ordinance in City Council, that will be signed into law come September protecting outside visitors seeking abortions in Chicago.

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The mayor said the city has already spent $500,000 to expand access to reproductive health.

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Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, said in a statement, "Instead of focusing so much on aborting out of state babies, Mayor Lightfoot should focus on fixing the problems of violence being faced by Chicagoans every day.''