Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and Reps. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) and Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) joined their fellow Democrats recently in pushing through legislation that would expand abortion rights and coverage in Illinois.
It is now up to Gov. Bruce Rauner to either sign or veto House Bill 40. He has vowed to veto it because of the additional cost it would mean to the state, since it provides for abortion procedures to be covered for recipients of state employee health insurance and Medicaid.
James Pittman Jr., an associate director of the Bensenville-based Christian Emergency League and a pastor based in Palatine, said many Democrats don't actually want this measure.
“It is hard for me to even understand why the [Democrats] do what they do most of the time,” Pittman told the DuPage Policy Journal. “But if I were to take a stab at it and get talking to Democrats, they think it is a winning issue as it pertains to votes. They think it is a winning issue. Many of the Democrats that I associate with recognize that abortion is the taking of innocent life, but they say that they are not going to force their values on others.”
Senators voted along party lines, 33 to 22, while the House vote was 62 to 55.
In addition to drastically changing the eligibility requirements for abortion coverage, the legislation also aims to guarantee access to abortion procedures if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v Wade.
Many proponents of the legislation have heralded the bill as a method to provide wider access to such procedures and to empower more women to exercise reproductive rights.
Pittman disagreed with the sentiment.
“My opinion is that by and large, the Democratic party is a godless organization,” Pittman said. “What I mean by that is its anti-Judeo-Christian values.”
Recent surveys appear to validate Pittman's contention, as most Illinoisans have been shown to disagree with using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions.
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