Illinois House Passes Bill to Force Taxpayers to Fund Abortions, Keep Abortion Legal if Roe is Overturned

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Apr 25, 2017   |   6:00PM   |   Springfield, IL

The Illinois House pushed through a radical piece of pro-abortion legislation Tuesday that would force taxpayers to fund abortions.

The bill passed the state House on Tuesday, despite Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plans to veto it, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

The bill would force taxpayers to fund abortions for any reason through all nine months of pregnancy, and keep abortion on demand legal in Illinois the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. The Illinois State Assembly synopsis of the bill says it would remove language from state law and policy “that the unborn child is a human being from the time of conception and is, therefore, a legal person for purposes of the unborn child’s right to life.”

Earlier this year, Emily Troscinski, executive director of Illinois Right To Life, estimated that 12,000 more unborn babies could die every year if the bill becomes law. Those babies’ deaths would be paid for by Illinois taxpayers.

She said Illinois funded unrestricted abortions through Medicaid in the late 1970s, and taxpayers paid $1.8 million for about 12,738 abortions at the time – so “12,000 abortions per year isn’t an exaggeration.”

“We are overjoyed that Governor Rauner has said he will veto this radical legislation,” Troscinski said. “HB 40 would force all Illinoisans to pay for abortions through all nine months of pregnancy and for any reason, for those on Medicaid. This bill is out-of-touch, extreme, and bad policy for Illinois, and we applaud the Governor for his firm position against it.”

Here’s more from the Times:

During more than an hour of debate, some Republicans argued the measure would cost the state and expansion of Medicaid services isn’t necessary. Some voted no for ideological reasons.

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State Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, argued that expanding Medicaid coverage for abortions would cost the state millions.

“Where should that money come from? Should it come from cancer screenings … will it come from necessary surgeries?” Breen asked.

Breen said the trigger language in the bill is “clouding the debate,” and that if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, abortion still would not be illegal in the state.

“It is in the word of today, fake news. It’s a smokescreen,” Breen said. “The entire purpose of this bill is to bring more money, millions of dollars from the Illinois State treasury to the abortion industry.”

Gov. Rauner, a pro-abortion Republican, said he would veto the legislation because most people do not support taxpayer funding of abortions. However, he is under intense pressure from abortion activists to support the bill.

State Senate leaders told abortion activists that they plan to push the bill through the legislature and work to override Rauner’s veto.

Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortions.

A Politico/Harvard University poll in October 2016 found that just 36 percent of likely voters supported taxpayer funding for abortions, while 58 percent opposed it. These findings are consistent with previous polls from various groups.

Interestingly, the poll also found that voters who make more than $75,000 were more supportive of forcing taxpayers to fund abortions (45 percent in favor), while those who make $25,000 or less were strongly against it (24 percent in favor).

In other words, the people most likely to qualify for a Medicaid-covered, taxpayer-funded abortion are the ones who oppose it the most.

ACTION: Contact Illinois lawmakers here.

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