Senate committee passes bill to protect prescription info for trans,
abortion patients
[May 01, 2026]
By Nikoel Hytrek and UIS Public Affairs Reporting (PAR)
A bill to strengthen privacy protections for transgender and abortion
patients passed a Senate committee Wednesday in a 9-4 partisan vote.
Senate Bill 4834, would remove testosterone from the state’s
Prescription Monitoring Program, which otherwise exists to protect
against misuse of addictive controlled substances. It would also
prohibit the Department of Human Services from adding estrogen, abortion
medications mifepristone and misoprostol, and drugs commonly referred to
as hormone suppressants to the program.
The state’s Prescription Monitoring Program was established in the 1980s
to prevent people from getting multiple prescriptions of addictive
medications by going to different doctors. The program monitors
prescriptions for controlled substances used as painkillers such as
oxycodone and morphine.
The program also requires dispensers to submit records for people who
have been prescribed certain controlled substances.
SB 4834 would also purge IDHS records of the prescribing or dispensing
of testosterone. That information would still be part of a patient’s
medical records.
State Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, the sponsor of the bill,
said medical privacy is an essential right to protect.
“It’s no secret that the transgender community has been the target of
hate for years,” she said in a Thursday news conference. “It’s not
difficult to image that this data could be used to target transgender
individuals who take testosterone.”
Testosterone was classified as a Schedule III controlled substance in
the 1990 Anabolic Steroids Control Act to crack down on performance
enhancing drug use in sports. But the hormone has several medical uses
for treating low testosterone levels, breast cancer patients, muscle
atrophy and hormone replacement therapy for trans people. It can be
addictive when misused, but gender affirming care is normally monitored
closely by doctors.
“Tracking individuals for seeking hormone replacement therapy undermines
both medical confidentiality and personal freedom,” Johnson said.
“Everyone deserves the ability to make informed healthcare choices
without unnecessary intrusion.”
Abortion medication included
The bill also protects abortion patients’ access to abortion medication
— both mifepristone and misoprostol. Those drugs are not considered
controlled substances, but Louisiana in 2024 reclassified them as such
so the state could restrict patients from obtaining the pills for
abortions. The bill preempts potential similar action in Illinois.
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State Sen. Adriene Johnson talks to Planned Parenthood Illinois
Action lobbyist Michael Zirir during a Senate committee hearing on
Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jenna
Schweikert)
Those drugs also have important medical uses for managing miscarriages,
inducing labor and treating postpartum hemorrhage. Experts have voiced
concerns that increased oversight and scrutiny could deter doctors from
prescribing the pills because abortion is already severely restricted in
Louisiana.
“A patient’s medical information is deeply personal, and protecting it
is essential to preserving trust between individuals and their
healthcare providers,” Johnson said.
If patients are concerned about having their prescriptions monitored,
she said, they might avoid doctors or forgo care.
Johnson said her bill is “a complement” to one passed by the House on
April 16, which would create the Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act
and automatically segregate abortion-related services and treatment from
digital medical records.
Republicans pushed back on the bill, arguing that testosterone and
abortion medication prescriptions are important for monitoring.
“Medical organizations are aware of this bill,” said Michael Ziri, with
Planned Parenthood Illinois Action during the Wednesday committee
hearing. “They have shared no concerns with us. We reached out to the
State Medical Society. They shared no concerns with us.”
Johnson said pharmacists will still be able to advise patients about
potential drug interactions because the information is only being
removed from the state’s database, and it will stay in a patient’s
medical records.
“These medications are lifesaving, and we should not unnecessarily
surveil individuals who are prescribed with them,” she said.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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