Representative Casten is committed to supporting and expanding women's rights and opportunities — by protecting reproductive rights, fighting for equal pay for equal work, and supporting programs that aid women subjected to harassment and abuse. His record is 100% pro-choice and always will be.

Rep. Casten believes it is critical that Congress take immediate action to enshrine the right to an abortion into law. He has co-sponsored legislation such as the Women’s Health Protection Act to do just that. Rep. Casten has been, and will continue to be, an outspoken advocate for the right of women to make their own health care decisions.

Rep. Casten is also working to address inequality, like the gender pay gap. For every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 80 cents, and the wage gap is even larger for women of color.

Rep. Casten is proud to be a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. This legislation closes loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act to secure justice for working women in Illinois and across the country by providing effective remedies for women subject to unfair and inequitable pay practices. He’s also a co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment, which affirms women’s equality in the US Constitution.

Rep. Casten and Congresswoman Grace Meng introduced the Period PROUD Act, which expands accessibility to menstrual products for those with limited access. 

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS 

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, abortion laws and access to care have varied substantially from state to state. Illinois has taken steps to safeguard abortion rights and access during that time, including as recently as July 2023, when Governor Pritzker announced a slate of new measures to increase reproductive health care access, such as the creation of the CARLA (Complex  Abortion Regional Line for Access) patient navigation center and the Reproductive Health Public Navigation Hotline set to launch this year. In Illinois, abortion, contraception, and fertility care are safe, legal, and accessible. 

As the country faces an unprecedented reproductive health care crisis, Rep. Casten is here with you and for you.  He knows that abortion care is health care. Reproductive rights are human rights, and all Illinoisans deserve the freedom to make their own medical decisions—including about abortion. 

Please review the resources below for information on knowing your rights, understanding Congressional action to advance reproductive freedom, and accessing care in Illinois.  

Federal: Biden Administration 

National Rights & Resources 

• Department of Health and Human Services Reproductive Rights Resource Website HERE
• Department of Justice Reproductive Rights Task Force Information HERE
• Department of Education Title IX Fact Sheet HERE
• Department of Defense
  • Military Health System
    • Reproductive Health Care Resources HERE
    • Reproductive Health Q&A HERE
  • Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
    • Updated Reproductive Care Policies HERE 
• Department of Veterans Affairs Reproductive Health Information HERE
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Pregnancy Discrimination Information HERE
• Department of Homeland Security
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement
    • Medical Care Standards HERE 

Reproductive Health Care Coverage 

• Department of Health and Human Services
  • Office of Secretary Xavier Becerra
    • HHS, Labor & Treasury Joint Guidance on Birth Control Coverage HERE
  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
    • Revised Emergency Abortion Coverage Policies HERE
    • Medicare Abortion Coverage Policies HERE 
• Department of Defense
  • Defense Health Agency 
    • TRICARE Reproductive Health Coverage Policies HERE 
• Health Insurance Marketplace
  • Abortion Information HERE
  • Birth Control Information HERE 
• Department of Labor 
  • Employer-Based Health Benefits ‘Ask EBSA’ Hotline Information HERE 

Family Planning Resources 

• Department of Health and Human Services
  • Office of Population Affairs
    • Adolescent Health & Family Planning Resources HERE
    • Title X Program
      • 2021 Updated Rule HERE 
      • Clinic Finder HERE
      • Resources for Grantees HERE 

State Agencies 

• IL Office of the Attorney General
  • Women’s Rights Information and Hotline HERE
    • Know Your Reproductive Rights Guide HERE
    • Protecting Your Personal Information Guide HERE 
• IL Department of Human Rights 
  • Pregnancy Rights Resources HERE
•  IL Department of Healthcare and Family Services
  • Illinois Healthcare Portal: Women’s Health HERE
  • Reproductive Health Care Information HERE
  • HFS Family Planning Program Information HERE
    • Information for Patients HERE
    • Information for Providers HERE
    • Family Planning Clinic Locator HERE
    • Family Planning Provider Directory HERE
  • Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility Program 
    • Information for Patients HERE
    • Information for Providers HERE 
•  IL Department of Public Health
  • Maternal, Child, and Family Health Information HERE
    • Family Planning Program Information HERE
    • Emergency Contraception Information (English) HERE 
    • Emergency Contraception Information (Spanish) HERE 
  • Abortion Statistics Archive HERE
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases Information HERE
•  IL Department of Insurance
  • Reproductive Health Care Coverage Information HERE
  • Rights for Accessing Care and Navigating Provider Networks HERE 
• IL Department of Central Management Services 
  • State Employee Reproductive Healthcare Benefits Program Information HERE
• IL State Board of Education
  • Sexual Health Information HERE
    • Sexual Health Education FAQs HERE 
• UI Health
  • OB/GYN Services HERE
    • Center for Reproductive Health Information and Resources HERE
    • Reproductive Endocrinology and Fertility Services HERE 

What I Am Doing 

Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus 

In the 118th Congress, Rep. Casten is proud to be a Member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus (PCC)—a group of over 150 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives committed to advancing reproductive rights, freedom, and justice.  

From moving key legislation forward to amplifying the voices of those in the 6th District and around the country demanding action, he consistently stands with his PCC colleagues to fight for your reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy. 

You can learn more about PCC here.  

Legislation 

Rep. Casten is constantly working to advance bills that safeguard your reproductive rights and access to care, protect your private health care data, and reaffirm U.S. commitment to global health and human rights worldwide, among other key issues. Read more about those initiatives here:  

Abortion Rights 

The right to abortion is a fundamental right—one that must be safeguarded in federal law. That is why Rep. Casten is a proud original cosponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade and enshrine the national right to abortion into law. He was also proud to sign  the Pro-Choice Caucus’ discharge petition, which is only seven signatures from forcing a vote on the House Floor on this critical bill, even over GOP leadership objections.  

He is a strong supporter of multiple pieces of abortion rights legislation, including the Abortion Justice Act—which articulates a proactive vision for a future with true reproductive freedom for all; the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, to protect the right to travel between states for reproductive health care; the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Health Care Act, to protect abortion providers from retaliatory legal action; and the removal of the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights  Amendment, to enshrine gender equity in the U.S. constitution. 

Contraception Rights 

Individuals have the right to decide whether, how, and when they become a parent. Each person deserves that right—and deserves to have their choice of the birth control method that works best for them, free from political interference. As extreme GOP attacks on contraception are already taking place across the nation, Rep. Casten is proud to stand with 9 in 10 Americans and support the bipartisan Right to Contraception Act. This bill would enshrine the right to contraception into federal law and protect all people who use it from attempts to restrict access to birth control.

Access to Abortion 

In addition to protecting the right to abortion, true reproductive freedom means every person has access to the reproductive health care they need, regardless of income, insurance, or zip code. This requires decisive action to abolish harmful and discriminatory restrictions, such as the Hyde Amendment—a policy prohibiting all taxpayer funding for abortion care, blocking abortion care coverage for all those who rely on federal government-sponsored or subsidized health insurance. This predominantly impacts poor women and women of color. While the extreme GOP consistently pushes to codify the racist,  classist Hyde Amendment, House Democrats successfully kept it out of the House-passed spending bills multiple years running in previous Congresses. Now, they are working to eliminate it once and for all, which is why Rep. Casten is proud to be an original cosponsor of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in  Health Insurance (EACH) Act, to help ensure everybody can access the full spectrum of health care, including abortion care, regardless of their income or the source of their insurance.  

Expanding access requires leaving no one behind, and Rep. Casten is proud to support the Reproductive Health  Care Accessibility Act to expand access to the full spectrum of reproductive care, including abortion care, and eliminate barriers for individuals with disabilities. 

Other critical abortion access bills Rep. Casten has advocated for in the House include the Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act, to support those traveling to access care; the Reproductive Health Care Training Act, to address gaps in abortion training; the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act, to reaffirm the FDA’s authority over medication abortion approval and access; and the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, to crack down on anti-abortion so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which seek to prevent people from accessing or even accessing information about, abortion care by spreading harmful disinformation. 

He also joined multiple amicus briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court to protect access to the safe, effective abortion medication mifepristone.  

Access to Family Planning 

The vast majority of Americans has used one or more methods of contraception in their lifetime—and nearly 4 million people per year utilize family planning services from the federal Title X program. Every person who needs it should be able to access the family planning support and birth control method that works best for them, which is why Rep. Casten is working to expand access to family planning,  including birth control. He is proud to support multiple bills that will help achieve this goal, including the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act, to reauthorize and increase investment in Title X; the Affordability is Access Act, to expand insurance coverage for over-the-counter contraceptives; the Enhancing Questions to Understand Intentions for Pregnancy (EQUIP) Act, to advance the pregnancy  intention screening tools that prevent unintended pregnancy and improve the likelihood of healthy pregnancies; and the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, to limit copayments for  contraception for those utilizing VA health services. 

Data Privacy 

Reproductive health care choices are nobody’s business but a patient’s and their health care provider’s— and that information should never be publicized against your will or weaponized. Personal reproductive health data must be protected, including about abortion, which is why Rep. Casten is proud to support the My Body, My Data Act to create a new national standard for protecting the privacy of personal reproductive and sexual health information. 

Global Health & Human Rights 

Reproductive rights are human rights, and Rep. Casten is proud of the work Congress is doing to advance those rights here in the U.S. and throughout the international community. The United States is the leading provider of global health assistance in the world, and longstanding, ideologically motivated policies have a shameful history of harming that aid’s effectiveness and our leadership on the world stage. The Global Gag Rule—also known as the Mexico City Policy—has been in effect intermittently for decades, largely under Republican administrations. The version of the rule in place during the previous administration prevents U.S. funds from going to any organizations that not only provide abortion care but provide information on abortion care, even if U.S. funds are not spent on those services. This forced organizations receiving U.S. global health funding to choose between receiving U.S. resources and providing comprehensive reproductive health care in the best interest of their patients. On top of that,  the Helms Amendment continues to bar all U.S. global health assistance from funding abortion care,  even in countries where that care is legal. When in place, these policies contribute to a massive burden of unsafe abortions and maternal mortality in the countries they impact, counteracting the global health goals and the health and well-being of communities around the world. 

While extreme GOP legislators push to codify these and other policies, to curtail human rights and slash global health and family planning funding, Rep. Casten is proud to stand with his Democratic colleagues in support of the Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights (HER) Act, to repeal the Global Gag rule; the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, to repeal the Helms amendment; the Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality (GLOBE) Act, to protect global LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights; and the Support UNFPA Funding Act, to reaffirm our nation’s commitment to the UN’s family planning agency and global gender equality. 

Violence Against Women Act

Domestic violence and abuse is far too prevalent in our country. Rep. Casten is committed to combating domestic violence and advocating for victims of abuse.

He is proud to have cosponsored and helped to pass H.R. 1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, which has been vital to saving the lives of women and their families since its inception. This bill addresses gaps in current law in collaboration with victim service providers, law enforcement, and other experts in the field. 

Rep. Casten also passed his amendment to the bill to include campus faculty in grant programs so they can be trained in recognizing and responding to domestic or sexual abuse.