On Saturday, April 24th, the Rockford Family Initiative organized a rally against the pro-abortion lobby’s attempt to repeal Illinois’ Parental Notification of Abortion Act. In Springfield, our representatives are debating legislation that would allow a minor to get an abortion without their parents knowing.
In Illinois, the current law states that if a person is under the age of 18 and schedules an abortion, a family member must be notified by the abortion clinic. If there is a compelling reason why the parents should not be notified, a judicial bypass may be granted. The new legislation would repeal this commonsense law, and it would allow teenagers to get abortions without their parents being notified.
Kevin Rillot, the president of the Rockford Family Initiative, rallied with others at the intersection of East Riverside Boulevard and North Mulford Road in Rockford.
Parental Notification is important for many reasons, and those who showed up on the 24th made this clear. Danniel Pribble, a father himself and the Director of Communications for Rockford Family Institute, explained: “[Parental Notification] is important because it recognizes, in a minimal way, but at least it’s something, the rights of parents over their children. Parental rights are gradually being eroded in our society, and the repeal of parental notice is just one more step in that process.”
Not only does this concern parents themselves, it also concerns many young people. Gus, a young man from the Rockford area who was at the rally to show his support, explained: “This [Parental Notification Act] is for young girls who are below the age of 18. They are not allowed to vote, they are not allowed to do many medical procedures.” Gus added that, even if abortion was “just another medical procedure,” parents should still be involved.
The removal of this barrier to abortions will only make it easier for young people to obtain abortions and more room for regret later in life. A woman who attended the rally explained, “Teens don’t know what they are doing on their own. They need guidance from their parents and support from the larger community, and if you happen to have parental notification for other procedures, this is a very important procedure and this is a very important procedure that people should be notified of before their daughter has it.”
Another concern of many at the rally is that, if Parental Notification is repealed, it will make it even easier for sexual predators and human traffickers to hide their crimes with abortion. Abortion advocates are saying this claim is a scare tactic on behalf of pro-lifers but we know this happens regularly.
Concerned citizens of Illinois are fighting back against abortion advocates’ attempt to repeal the protective Parental Notification of Abortion act. They are fighting to uphold the dignity of their children and girls throughout our state. They are fighting to protect the rights of parents and to protect our young women from human traffickers and sexual predators.
If you have not already, PLEASE contact your legislators and tell them to keep Illinois’ Parental Notification of Abortion Act in place, unchanged. Follow Parents for the Protection of Girls, a coalition of concerned Illinois parents, on Facebook to keep up with the latest news on this critical legislative battle. The only way we will protect Parental Notification is with your help. Thank you!