By Illinois Review
During a late Friday morning press conference in Chicago, Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker, surrounded by legislators and abortion rights advocates, signed a bill into law that expands abortion protections in Illinois, including gender transitioning care.
The legislation is in response to the June decision when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which made abortion care a guaranteed constitutional right. The Supreme Court overturned Roe in a 5-4 decision, with Justice Samuel Alito writing the opinion calling Roe “egregiously wrong from the start.”
After the Supreme Court’s action in June, Gov. Pritzker issued a statement on Twitter,
“Let me be clear: even with the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, abortion is still safe and legal in Illinois. This is a direct assault on self-determination and the right to privacy. But we cannot allow the radical right to take our power away. The fight continues.”
The new law protects Illinois providers from legal action for performing abortion procedures to out-of-state patients, and protects patients from seeking gender transitioning care such as hormone blockers, hormone replacement therapy and hormone gender confirmation surgery.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, several surrounding states including Missouri, Wisconsin and Kentucky have banned abortions.
In a speech moments before the bill signing, Pritzker said,
“Here in Illinois, we hold certain ideals: abortion is health care. A medical decision should be made between a patient and their doctor – no one else. Last Summer, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, I made a promise that Illinois would remain a beacon of hope and an island for a reproductive justice for all who seek it. This bill fulfills that promise.”
The bill passed the Illinois House by a vote of 70-39, and the Illinois Senate, 41-16, proving yet again how irrelevant and useless Illinois Republicans have become in the General Assembly. The differences in the votes is astonishing.
During debate in the Senate, Republican State Sen. Darren Bailey said,
“I have no words for it, other than pure evil. This is wrong. God help us.”
Unfortunately, Republicans are left voiceless and irrelevant on local and state matters in Springfield. Democrats maintain a supermajority in both the Illinois House and Illinois Senate Chambers, and they control every statewide office and the State Supreme Court by a 5-2 majority.
The Republican Party of Illinois has recently come under fire for sending out a pro-choice mailer in support of Republican DuPage County Chairman candidate Greg Hart – a protege of former House Republican leader Jim Durkin, who earlier this week joined Democrats, voting in favor of the assault weapons ban.
Illinois Republicans had hoped that by running a pro-choice candidate, they would have attracted more independent voters. Instead the plan backfired and Hart lost the election.
But not only is this mailer wrong, but it contradicts the Illinois Republican Party Platform, which was adopted on October 3, 2020.
“We believe that our natural rights, as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, begin at conception and continue until natural death.
We support a human life amendment to the federal and Illinois constitutions affirming the right to life of unborn children, and we support making clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.”
The document goes on to say that,
“We advocate the overturning of Roe v. Wade”
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy, and the seventeen members of the Republican State Central Committee have remained silent on the mailer issue, choosing not to make any public comments or statements on the matter.
Illinois Review finds this unacceptable and will continue to hold senior Illinois GOP officials accountable for their actions.
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