Dupage Policy Journal

Earlier this month, myself and a group of concerned citizens met with State Representative Diane Pappas at her district office to discuss House Bill 2495. HB2495 is the Reproductive Health Act. If this extreme bill passes the House and Senate and becomes law, Illinois will lead the country in unrestricted access to abortions. What I’m going to share with you is what happened during our visit with Representative Pappas. Diane Pappas represents Legislative District 45, which covers all or parts of Bartlett, Hanover Park, West Chicago, Wayne, Carol Stream, Bloomingdale, Itasca, Roselle, Wood Dale, Medinah, and Addison.

A small coalition from a local Parish in Wayne Township met at the district office of Representative Diane Pappas in Bloomingdale to discuss HB2495 with Ms. Pappas. We tried to keep politics out of this equation, as we were here to represent the parish members for Pro Life.  I personally, introduced myself as a Business Owner, who is a licensed Insurance Agent. Two minutes into the discussion, she revealed her views on the topic and how we won't be able to change her mind. (Well, I wasn't there to change her mind, I was there to have her hear us out, I mean after all, she does work for us, correct?). 

Her office became a silent, we had to focus and quickly make our case. Her eyes connected with mine and she said, "You know ladies, with technology the way it is, we wouldn't have an abortion problem if we applied a plan. Now, I've been told it's a bit radical, but if we allowed men to be castrated, took the sperm to the bank, collected tax dollars on it for storage, then when it's time, to have the man decide he's ready to begin a family.... well then problem is solved!" 

Thinking back on this and seeing the faces of the women who were with me, didn't leave me speechless, but agitated (do you know how hard it was for me to bite my lip and not throw at her that I'm with The DuPage Republican Party and hold an elected office?) Anything bipartisan, just went out the door with that comment. Not to mention that during further discussion, she called one of our members a Racist!  Talk about an eye opener. 

But that was not the end of our meeting. She continued to lie about HB2495, such as how she claimed it was dead. That it won't come back to review until next year. Well I checked the status and as of 3/29. it's currently in the powerful Rules Committee, and we know how that can go. Planned Parent Hood is pushing hard for the passage of this bill (according to my sources). Diane Pappas feels that there are more important bills at stake, such as The Progressive Tax, The Legalization of Marijuana and Education. 

This meeting has opened the eyes of everyone in our small but determined group and we will be organizing again shorty. Personal PAC is going to hold a Pro Choice Event on 5/1 in Springfield. If you are as outraged by these event as we were, keep your eye out for more information from them on Facebook.  

It is important for us to keep up the pressure on those who were elected to represent us. We need to be making phone calls and sending emails to all our Representatives and convince them to vote against HB2495. If you would like to reach out to Representative Pappas, her contact information is below. She might not change her mind, but it is important that she listens to the constituents she claims to represent. 

Original article can be found here.