Peter Breen, the Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation at the Thomas More Society, has vehemently criticized a new law, denouncing it as a deliberate and deceptive tactic to stifle pro-life expression under the guise of "consumer protection.”
Breen, a former state representative from Lombard, raised serious concerns over the law's potential to curtail pro-life speech and silence pregnancy help ministries, which offer valuable support to women and families in need.
“This law is a blatant attempt to chill and silence pro-life speech under the guise of ‘consumer protection,’” Breen said, according to One America News. “Pregnancy help ministries provide real options and assistance to women and families in need, but instead of the praise they deserve, pro-abortion politicians are targeting these ministries with $50,000 fines and injunctions solely because of their pro-life viewpoint.”
The Thomas More Society is representing the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), a national pregnancy help center network, and other pro-life organizations in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court seeking a temporary and permanent injunction against SB 1909 in Illinois. The lawsuit challenges the law's enforcement, claiming that it infringes upon First Amendment rights and unfairly targets pregnancy centers that provide free services to women and families, The Telegraph reported.
“The state government has completely overstepped the bounds of any logical and relevant authority by inserting insane partisan politics into their governing bodies and attempting to trample the First Amendment rights of those with whom they disagree,” Thomas Glessner, President of NIFLA said.
A report from the Society for Family Planning reveals that Illinois experienced a nearly 30% increase in abortions in the months following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The surge in abortions in Illinois comes as many patients from states that have banned the procedure, such as Missouri, Arkansas, and Kentucky, travel to Illinois for the procedure. Meanwhile, other states in the south-central region saw a 96% decrease in the number of abortions during the same period, highlighting the impact of abortion restrictions in those areas, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
“Illinois is currently the state experiencing the second highest increase in abortion care,” the University of Chicago said in its “Illinois Abortion Update.”
The report reveals a significant increase in abortion procedures in Illinois between April and August 2022, with a total of 30,300 abortions performed in that period, accounting for 7.3% of all abortions in the United States.
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