On Friday, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law a bill which will force medical personnel and pregnancy centers to make abortion referrals and tell clients about the “benefits” of abortion against their will.
Illinois Right to Life notes that Senate Bill 1564 is “poorly written,” as the language does not specify a list of benefits to be discussed, how precisely they must be presented, or whether a physician can “legally state in his medical opinion that there are no benefits to abortion.”
Pro-lifers in the state are not only lamenting the new law’s infringement on conscience rights and religious liberty, but how it violates the pro-“choice” Republican’s campaign promise not to involve himself in social issues as governor.
The law does not take effect until January 2017, giving opponents time to mount a legal challenge to the law (Alliance Defending Freedom and Thomas More Society have both confirmed they will be taking action) and pro-life care providers time to decide how they will attempt to move forward under it.
“This is sad and tragic news,” Pro-Life Action League Vice President Ann Scheidler said in response. “It will result in lawsuits filed against the State of Illinois, which is in a dismal financial state and can ill afford to take on unnecessary legal battles. The medical professionals in the state of Illinois deserve to practice their healing art and have their freedom of conscience respected. The pro-life pregnancy centers should be protected from giving exactly the advice that goes against everything they stand for. They will not do it.”
