Today, the Illinois Senate voted to pass HB 40.
This is the bill that provides free abortions to those on Medicaid and state employees for any reason, including birth control – paid for by Illinois taxpayers (you and me). We’re deeply saddened that our leaders in the Illinois Senate find it more important to focus on increasing the number of abortions in Illinois rather than fixing our state’s debt crisis.
Nevertheless, thank you to all those who called their state senator and asked them to vote no on this bill. We know it is discouraging to see such an extreme and out of touch pro-abortion bill pass. But our senators need to hear from you. In fact, the debate on this bill went on for nearly an hour today. During that time, several of our pro-life legislators stood and passionately defended the unborn, speaking out against the bill. Some of these legislators include:
Senator McCarter
Senator Anderson
Senator Rooney
Senator Bivins
Senator Righter
Senator McConchie
In the end, the bill passed with 33 votes (22 were opposed). You can see the vote tally here.
On April 14th, Governor Bruce Rauner publicly stated he would veto HB40 should it reach his desk. According to the Chicago Tribune,
“‘Gov. Rauner is committed to protecting women’s reproductive rights under current Illinois law. However, recognizing the sharp divisions of opinion of taxpayer funding of abortion, he does not support’ the pending legislation, spokeswoman Eleni Demertzis said.”
We are very grateful for Governor Rauner’s strong position against HB40 despite his pro-choice views. We need you to call Governor Rauner’s office and thank him for his promise to veto HB 40 once it reaches his desk. You can call his office right now at: 217-782-0244.
Be sure to thank our Governor for putting his foot down, promising to veto this bill, and sending legislators back to work on fixing our state.