Illinois's Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner said Thursday he will sign a bill allowing Medicaid and state health-care plans to cover abortions.

"I also believe that no woman should be forced to make a different decision than another woman would make purely based on her income," Rauner said at a press conference. "I believe that a woman living with limited financial means should not be put in the position where she has to choose something different than a woman of higher income would be able to choose."

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Rauner is considered one of the most vulnerable Republican governors up for reelection in 2018. Signing the bill makes it even more likely he will face a primary challenge.

“I am personally pro-choice, I always have been," he said.

"I made no qualms about that when I was elected governor. I have not and never will change my views," he said. "I personally believe that a woman must have the right to decide what goes on in her own body.”

Group that support abortion rights cheered the decision.

“We applaud Gov. Rauner for announcing he will sign HB 40 and, in doing so, affirming that freedom, equality, and justice are higher values than dogmatic partisanship," NARAL Pro-Choice America said in a statement. "Today is a great reminder of our history as a nation where women’s rights are considered human rights by elected officials regardless of party affiliation."