A bill sitting on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk could shut down pro-life pregnancy centers across the state and deny mothers and babies critical, life-saving services.
This week, pro-life organizations are urging people to contact the governor and tell him to veto Senate Bill 1909.
Pro-abortion lawmakers claim the bill will help stop “deceptive practices” at pregnancy resource centers, but pro-life advocates say the legislation really would be used to close charities that provide free resources to moms and save unborn babies from the abortion industry’s billion-dollar killing practice.
Mary Kate Zander, executive director of Illinois Right to Life, said Pritzker needs to hear from voters this week about the extreme pro-abortion bill.
Zander urged people to call the governor’s office and tell him “to withhold his signature from SB1909, the ‘Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act.’ This bill singles out pro-life pregnancy resource centers, placing a target on their backs and violating their right to free speech.”
Pritzker is a pro-abortion Democrat, so he likely will sign the bill. However, calls from voters and the threat of a free speech lawsuit could change his mind.
State Sen. Celina Villanueva, D-Chicago, one of the lead sponsors of the bill, said lawmakers want to protect women against “deceptive, fraudulent and misleading practices” as they make “autonomous” decisions about their “reproductive health.”
But pro-life advocates warn the overbearing legislation violates free speech and labels truth as “deception.”
ACTION ALERT: Contact Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The bill gives the Illinois Attorney General’s Office broad authority to determine what “appears” to be “deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation, or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact.” Those deemed to be in violation of the law could be fined up to $50,000.
In an analysis of the bill this week, Equal Rights Institute lead editor Andrew Kaake said the bill even would force pro-lifers to lie to women about abortion risks.
Kaake quoted state Democrat lawmakers who accused pregnancy centers of “concealing data that shows the risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than the risk of death associated with an abortion.”
However, the risks claim is based on just one flawed study, and the research has been debunked, Kaake said.
“The Illinois Legislature is trying to codify the false claims of a single debunked study, while accusing pro-lifers who refuse to say it’s true of fraud,” he wrote. “That’s right; they are hoping to legally force pregnancy centers to tell misinformation to their clients.”
Another problem is the bill gives the attorney general authority to punish pregnancy centers for things authorities believe the charities may do in the future, Kaake continued. He pointed to a section of the bill that allows authorities to act if they “believe that any person is,” “has,” “or is about to” do anything the bill makes unlawful.
“So it’s not enough for the state to try to compel pregnancy centers to spread pro-choice disinformation as a condition of doing business; this bill would empower Illinois to shut down every pregnancy center in advance based on the accusation that they are about to refuse to lie to their clients,” he said.
Pregnancy resource centers are community-based charities where women learn that there are risks to abortion. They learn about their unborn baby’s development and receive financial and emotional support. Pregnancy centers provide evidence-based information that women may not learn anywhere else, especially not at an abortion facility.
And their clients overwhelmingly report positive experiences. During the debate in the state legislature, state Republican lawmakers pointed out that the attorney general’s office has not received a single complaint about a pro-life pregnancy resource center for as far back as they checked, at least 10 years.
But because pro-life charities share the truth, they have become a target of attacks, from arson and vandalism, to legislation, to media hit pieces and slanderous pro-abortion campaigns.
Illinois had some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country. In 2021, the state legislature ignored the public’s wishes and voted to repeal its parental notification law, which required at least one parent to be notified before their underage daughter has an abortion. The state also forces taxpayers to pay for abortions and allows unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth.
In 2021, 46,243 abortions were reported, according to statistics from the Illinois health department.
ACTION ALERT: Contact Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
