FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Regina D’Amico
312-422-9300
ILLINOIS RIGHT TO LIFE ACTION REBUKES SENATOR MICHAEL CONNELLY FOR CAMPAIGNING ON ERA SUPPORT
September 14, 2018 – (CHICAGO) Illinois Right to Life Action (IRLA) – the C4 affiliate of Illinois Right to Life – responded on Friday to news of Illinois Republican State Senator Michael Connelly boasting, in a recent mail piece, of voting for the pro-abortion Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
The Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that, in practice, would put abortion restrictions across the country at serious risk if it were ratified. The Illinois legislature ratified the ERA in May of 2018.
Connelly’s mail piece states that he is a “strong supporter of women’s rights,” exemplified in his vote for the ERA. In 2014, Connelly voted against the ERA.
“Pro-lifers cannot count on legislators who tout they’re pro-life but surrender to the pro-abortion regime in our state. This will not be tolerated any longer,” said Executive Director of Illinois Right to Life Mary Kate Knorr. “For years, Senator Connelly has relied on pro-life voters to keep his seat. However, he has made it very clear by voting for the ERA and bragging about it in this mail piece that pro-life issues are not a priority for him.”
“I’m disappointed with Senator Michael Connelly for voting for the ERA and then bragging about it, as we have seen,” said IRLA Legislative Chairman Ralph Rivera. “This is in direct opposition to the stance he took in 2014 when he voted against the ERA.”
Past litigation has shown that the ERA is not used to guarantee the equality of the sexes under law, but to justify increasing abortion on demand and forcing taxpayers to cover the cost.
In both New Mexico and Connecticut, state courts have cited their state ERAs to justify the statewide expansion of abortion. In 1998, the New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that under the ERA, abortion cannot be regulated any differently than the “medically necessary procedures” that men seek.
For more information on the dangers of the ERA, visit www.IllinoisRightToLife.org.
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Illinois Right to Life Action is the state’s go-to organization for pro-life lobbying and information on defeating pro-abortion bills. We are highly trusted by pro-life political leaders and citizens alike to be their life affirming voice in the Illinois General Assembly.