Illinois Pro-Life Groups Band Together to Stop State Version of Pro-Abortion FOCA

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 25, 2009   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Illinois Pro-Life Groups Band Together to Stop State Version of Pro-Abortion FOCA

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 25
, 2009

Springfield, IL (LifeNews.com) — With an upcoming vote in the state House, Illinois-based pro-life groups are banding together to stop a radical state version of the pro-abortion FOCA bill. The so-called Freedom of Choice Act would overturn state laws that reduce abortions and stop taxpayers from having to fund them.

Earlier this month, the Illinois House Human Services Committee approved the bill, HB 2354, known as the Illinois Reproductive Health and Access Act.

The coalition of pro-life groups has assembled a new web site, StopIllinoisFOCA.com, to give citizens who oppose the bill a place to connect with each other and receive updates.

The groups include the Catholic Conference of Illinois, Illinois Federation for Right to Life, Illinois Citizens for Life, Illinois Right to Life Committee, and the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Eric Scheidler, communications director of the Pro-Life Action League, one of the organizations leading the grassroots mobilization, talked with LifeNews.com about the bill and the need to stop it.

“This ‘Illinois FOCA’ takes away the most basic restrictions on abortion that even a majority of pro-choice advocates support,” he said. “We joined together and developed StopIllinoisFOCA.com because we needed a place where people could get all the facts about this heinous bill, and take action against it.”

The coalition says the Reproductive Health and Access Act has nothing to do with reproductive health, and everything to do with dramatically expanding abortion in Illinois by sweeping away common-sense limits on abortion such as requiring parental notification beforehand.

The pr-life groups say the bill would also result in making Illinois residents fund thousands of abortions via Medicaid and taxpayer dollars, despite the economic crisis the state and nation.

It would also force pro-life health care professionals to cooperate in abortion by making abortion referrals and keep all abortions legal throughout pregnancy for any reason even if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned.

The groups and their new web site provide a detailed description of HB-2354, along with links for visitors to contact their state representatives, sign an online petition and download fliers and petitions for distribution.

In addition to setting up a Web site, pro-lifers are circulating petitions, mobilizing churches and canvassing local communities to spread the word about the bill it comes to a full House vote, which the coalition says could be any time in the coming weeks.

ACTION: Contact your state representative and urge strong opposition to HB 2354, the Reproductive Health and Access Act. Go to https://www.ilga.gov/house for contact information.

Related web sites:
Illinois Stop FOCA – https://stopillinoisfoca.com
Illinois Legislature – https://www.ilga.gov
Americans United for Life – https://www.aul.org
Pro-Life Action League – https://www.prolifeaction.org

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