Illinois Version of Radical, Pro-Abortion Freedom of Choice Act Defeated
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 3, 2009
Springfield, IL (LifeNews.com) — The Illinois version of the radical Freedom of Choice Act that Congress may eventually consider has been defeated. Today was the last day for the state House to vote on the bill, known as the Reproductive Health and Access Act, and it failed to do so.
House Bill 2354 will not be called for a vote today and, as a result, it will die for the legislative session. Abortion advocates will have to file the bill again next session for it to be considered once more.
"All our hard work has paid off," Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League, one of the pro-life groups working to defeat the bill, told LifeNews.com. "The phone calls, letters, petitions and protests sent a crystal clear message to our state representatives."
‘We do not want Illinois to be the flagship state for radical pro-abortion legislation," he said. "This is a great victory for life and a blessing from God, but that doesn’t mean we can sit back and take it easy."
The non-vote is good news considering the Illinois House Human Services Committee approved the bill.
The coalition of pro-life groups, including 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, had warned pro-life advocates of the radical effects of the pro-abortion bill.
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.
They say the bill would also result in making Illinois residents fund thousands of abortions via Medicaid and taxpayer dollars, despite the economic crisis in 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.
Though the state version is dead for now, the federal FOCA bill is still a concern.
A spokesman for Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat who is chairman of a House Judiciary subcommittee that could consider the bill, said last month the bill is forthcoming.
FOCA "is among the congressman’s priorities. We expect to reintroduce it sooner rather than later," Ilan Kayatsky told the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
"We expect it to be more or less the same bill with some minor tweaks," Kayatsky said. He indicated he expects pro-abortion Sen. Barbara Boxer to introduce a companion bill shortly.
If the bill is introduced in roughly the same form as it has been in previous Congressional sessions, then pro-life advocates will be preparing to vigorously oppose it.
FOCA would make legal all abortions throughout pregnancy for any reason and overturn hundreds of pro-life laws in every state across the country.
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
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
