By: Ashmar Mandou

During the City Council meeting on Wednesday morning, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward), Alderwoman Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd Ward), introduced the Bodily Autonomy 2.0 ordinance, intended to halt discrimination and “retaliation,” according to the ordinance, against an individual who has received reproductive healthcare or gender affirming care in the context of employment as well as housing.

Under the new proposed ordinance, the Chicago Commission on Human Relations (CCHR) has jurisdiction over investigating complaints of discrimination or retaliation in the context of housing and shares joint jurisdiction with the Office of Labor Standards at the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) for complaints related to discrimination or retaliation in the workplace.

“Reproductive and gender affirming care are vital medical services,” said Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady, M.D. “Exploiting this health information to discriminate against someone only increases stigma and can negatively impact people’s ability to access safe, high-quality services. This ordinance is an important step toward strengthening protections for those living and working in our great city.”

“I applaud the City Council for making the issue of bodily autonomy a priority as demonstrated by their rapid response in crafting this important ordinance. Through their efforts, the City will ensure that no one is made a victim for exercising their rights to make decisions regarding their reproductive health care and gender affirming care. The Commission on Human Relations counts it an honor to help in the enforcement of this important legislation and will exercise our full authority to prevent anyone from being subject to discrimination in our city,” said Nancy Andrade, Commissioner for the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.