Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Pro-life calls succeed -- pro-abort bill tabled

Dear Pro-Lifers

I've just gotten word that our effort to fight HB-5615 in the
Illinois General Assembly has succeeded!

The bill never passed out of committee before the House deadline,
which means the bill is tabled for the year. I thought you'd like
to know that all the phone calls and e-mails paid off.

Praise be to God!

Yours for Life,
Eric Scheidler
Communications Director
Pro-Life Action League
Tel: 630-896-1200
Pro-Life Action League,
6160 N Cicero Ave, Ste 600,
Chicago, IL 60646, USA


Fw: Thomas More Society Files Motions Defending Illinois Parental Notice Law

 
 
Thomas More Society
 
 
29 South LaSalle Street, Suite 440
Chicago, IL 60603   (312) 782-1680
MN Supreme Ct
 
 
March 14, 2008

Parental Involvement in Abortion Decisions of Minor Daughters Blocked Dirksen Federal Bldg - ChicagoBy Federal Court 

Thomas More Society Files Motions Asking Federal Judge in Chicago To Reconsider Decision
Concerns Over Whether the Attorney General Will Defend Parental Notice
 
On Thursday, March 13, 2008, Thomas More Society attorneys filed motions (see Motion 1 and Motion 2) asking Judge David Coar to reconsider his recent decision that the Illinois Parental Notice Act of 1995 is unconstitutional. 
 

Judge Coar based his decision against the Notice Act on its lack of a consent provision.  However, the required consent provision is provided by another statute, the Illinois "Consent by Minors to Medical Treatment Act," which was not cited in the court's decision. Nor was it cited by the Attorney General.

 

Due to this effort by the Thomas More Society, along with the public outcry generated by numerous church and pro-life groups, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also filed a Notice of Appeal in the case on the same day, March 13, although prior to Thursday, Attorney General Madigan's office had not responded to repeated requests to meet, or at least for assurances that the Parental Notice Act would be vigorously defended.

 
For Additional Information... 
Please see the full coverage of this story on our website, including the following:

Thomas More Society documents:

Related documents:

About the Thomas More Society 
The Thomas More Society is a nonprofit, public interest law firm based in Chicago which provides legal counsel and defense for those who work to protect innocent human life.
 
We provide free legal advice and assistance to those who face harassment, employment discrimination, unjust treatment, civil litigation or criminal prosecution as a result of their pro-life views or their peaceful protest activities. In the last several years, we have scored two decisive victories before the U.S. Supreme Court in the nationwide federal class action suit, NOW v. Scheidler.
 
The Society is supported solely by donations. To help fund our efforts or learn more about our work, visit www.thomasmoresociety.org.
 
Thomas More Society * 29 S. LaSalle St. Suite 440 * Chicago, IL 60603
 
(312) 782-1680 * info@thomasmoresociety.org
   

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

IMPORTANT ILLINOIS ACTION ALERTS!!!

We need your help TODAY to defeat the most sweeping pro-abortion bill ever proposed in Illinois: HB-5615, the "Reproductive Justice and Access Act" and the E.R.A.
 
OPPOSE HOUSE BILL 5615!!!
 
House Bill 5615 represents a RADICAL & UNPRECEDENTED departure from current Illinois law regarding abortion, public funding of abortion, health care right of conscience, and comprehensive sex education.
 
HB-5616 would:
 
   *  Kill all restrictions on abortion in the state, including parental notification and the partial birth abortion ban.
   *  Force pro-life health care professionals to cooperate in abortion by making abortion referrals.
   *  Mandate "comprehensive" sex-ed programs, which promote promiscuity and undermine the family, for all public schools.
   *  Require taxpayers to fund abortions through medicaid.
   *  Keep abortion 100% legal in Illinois if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned in the Supreme Court.
 
It is expected that this bill will pass through committee tomorrow and then quickly go to the House floor for a vote. We must act now to defeat this pernicious bill!
 
Contact your state rep TODAY and say, "Vote NO on HB-5615." Here are some tools to help you:
 
  *  If you know who your state rep is, get contact info here:
         http://www.ilga.gov/house/
  *  Look up your state rep and get contact info here:
         http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx
  
It is especially important that doctors, nurses pharmacists and other health care professionals call.
-----------------------------------------
 
OPPOSE ERA - HJRCA0002!!!
 
31 remaining key NO votes, ERA on the second reading on the IL House Floor
The ERA's 2008 battle royale is in the Illinois House.  The last time the Equal Rights Amendment was called and voted on in Illinois was 2005, when it passed the House in a 76 to 41 vote, and shutdown in the Senate which fell short of the needed 3/5 majority support.  Since 2003, several House members have retired or moved to the Senate.  Of the 41 "Nos," 31 remain.
 
The ERA will further entrench abortion in our society and legally mandate taxpayer funding for elective abortions. The New Mexico Supreme Court recently ruled under their state ERA that since only women undergo abortions, the denial of taxpayer funding is "sex discrimination" (N.M. Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, 975 P.2d 841, 1998).
 
Clearly the ERA will harm women, families, society, and the structure of our government. 
Contact your state senator and representative and ask them to vote against the ERA.  For contact information on your representative, please visit http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx
 
Once again the ERA is in the Illinois House as HJRCA0002 and will come up for a House vote shortly.  The Equal Rights Amendment will not help women; instead it will harm women, their families, and our society.
 
-----------------------------------------
 
For more information on these bills please visit our website at www.ifrl.org
 
To wrap up, contact your Representative and ask them to vote "NO" on HOUSE BILL 5615 (Reproductive Justice and Access Act), and to OPPOSE HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 0002 (The Equal Rights Amendment).  Then call your Senator and ask them to OPPOSE HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 0002 (The Equal Rights Amendment).
 
Look up your state rep and get contact info please visit: http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx

Friday, February 29, 2008

Pro-Life Clinic Witness Training Seminar

Pro-Life Clinic Witness Training Seminar
Saturday, March 15, 2008, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Village Baptist Church, 515 S. Frontenac, Aurora

Learn how you can be a voice of hope for mothers in crisis and their unborn babies as a prayer partner or sidewalk counselor. This pro-life seminar will equip you to reach out to abortion-bound mothers at Planned Parenthood in Aurora and help them to choose life.
Cost is $10, including lunch and seminar materials. To register call 630-896-1200 or register online at www.fvfapp.org/register
 
You can also download information on this seminar at:

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

OPPOSE HOUSE BILL 5615!!!

OPPOSE HOUSE BILL 5615!!!
 
House Bill 5615 represents a RADICAL & UNPRECEDENTED departure from current Illinois law regarding abortion, public funding of abortion, health care right of conscience, and comprehensive sex education.
 
ABORTION
 
Section 15 of HB 5615 prohibits the state from any regulation of contraceptives or abortion at any stage of pregnancy, including:
-  Requiring a minor to obtain a prescription for emergency contraceptive
-  Prohibiting Partial Birth Abortion
-  Requiring Parental Notification
-  Any regulation at all!!!
 
Section 20 of HB 5615 ensures public funding of abortion through Medicaid and could require health insurance for state employees to cover abortion!
Section 25 of HB 5615 specifically repudiates any possibility of regulating abortion procedures – including a ban on partial birth abortion.
 
Clearly, the enactment of HB 5615 would permanently unfetter and codify all abortion procedures at any stage of pregnancy!
 
HEALTH CARE RIGHT OF CONSCIENCE
 
Section 15 of HB 5615 prohibits anyone working for a governmental agency from exercising a health care right of conscience in regards to contraceptives (including the morning after pill) and/or abortion.     
       
Section 35 of HB 5615 places three overbearing and unreasonable demands on any health care professional who morally or ethically objects to any type of contraception or abortion procedure:
(1) the health care professional must give all their patients or their employer written notice of their moral religious beliefs;
(2) the health care professional must provide an objective description of health care options he or she is opposed to; and
(3) the health care professional must refer his or her patient somewhere for the very options morally objected to
And in addition to all this, the 4th provision of Section 35 allows an employer to fire any health care employee having moral objections to abortion under a totally undefined standard of undue hardship!
 
Quite simply, the enactment of HB 5615 would drive anyone believing in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death from the Illinois ' health care community!
 
COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION
 
Section 30 of HB 5615 would REQUIRE every public school in the state to offer a comprehensive sex education program.  No longer would local school districts be able to determine their curriculums in this area; every kindergartener in the state would have to take sex education.
 
The enactment of HB 5615 would wrest local control from school districts and, due to the absence of any real standards in so-called comprehensive sex education, quickens the demise of sexual morality in our society.
 
House Bill 5615 profoundly breaks with the views of the people of Illinois and with any general sense of fairness.  House Bill 5615 must not become law.
 
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS AND ASK THEM TO PLEASE VOTE NO!!!
 
Contact information for legislators can be found at http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx (type in your 9 digit zip code at this site to access your legislators' information).

Friday, February 22, 2008

Father Phillip Kaim, formerly good Pro Life Priest of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, now serving our nation in the Air Force in Italy

Father Kaim in his army fatigues greets his old friends back in McHenry County with a salute. We all remember him as a super-busy dedicated priest who could always find time for those who needed his help. We remember Father Kaim for his brilliant mind exposed in lovely homilies, his knowledge of history, and his very humble nature.

Time is a most precious to all who serve the Lord as priests and ministers of God. But chaplains who are called as Father Kaim has been called have found it necessary to double the pace and burn the late-night oil to cover all there is to do for the injured and battle-stressed. Father's greatest pleasure comes from distributing "power bars" to the heroes he visits almost every day.

Because there is such a shortage of chaplains, and because chaplains play such an important role in sustaining morale, we McHenry County Pro-Lifers take more than a little pride in the honor of sharing one of our best with the champions of our freedom. May we never forget how much they need our prayers for super human strength in their many trials.

Action needed immediately on ERA


The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was voted out of the House Jud 1- Civil Law Committee today and could come before the full Illinois House for a vote very soon. We originally had enough votes committed to block its passage out of committee, but we didn't anticipate that the Democrats would use a parliamentary procedure to substitute two liberal representatives in place of our two committed Democrat votes. As a result, we lost two supporters, and we lost the vote by 8-6. Greg Harris (D) was substituted for John Bradley (D) who couldn't make it in due to severe weather in his area, and Mary Flowers (D) was substituted in place of Careen Gordon (D). The result is frustrating, but also illustrative of the ERA supporters' dishonest tactics that they use each time to push this harmful legislation upon the rest of us. With that said, we need to immediately go to work to block passage of the ERA in both the Illinois House and the Illinois Senate. The task is doable, and we are not alone in our efforts. Please help by taking action on the following items:

1. Call your Illinois Representative and Senator and ask them to commit as to how they will vote on the ERA. Once you receive a commitment from them, please let me know how they plan to vote. If they will not commit, please encourage them to vote no on the ERA (Legislative number is: HJRCA0002). If you are unsure who your legislators are, you can call the Capitol Switchboard at 217-782-2000 for assistance or use the following website: http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx (type in your 9 digit zip code at this site to access your legislators' information).

2. Inform others of the problems with the ERA so that they fully understand the negative realities of this deceptive legislation and commit them to contact their legislators as well. Many people simply do not understand the harmful ramifications of the ERA, and wrongly believe it will benefit women. The more people we educate, the more public support we will have to stop the ERA. Please pass this on to as many people as you can to educate and gain their help (I've included updated talking points below to help). Consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to publicize the problems with the ERA as well.

3. Organize a group of constituents to visit your representative and your senator to educate them on the problems with the ERA. Many legislators believe they are doing a favor to women by voting for the ERA. They need the clear facts on how it will actually harm women, their families, and our society. We have changed a number of votes already through these meetings. They typically take 30-45 minutes, and are effective with 3-5 constituents. The talking points below will help with such a meeting, but feel free to contact me if you would like more information or pointers. These meetings will need to take place in the next two weeks if possible, and can be scheduled through the legislator's district office.

Once again it is in the Illinois House as HJRCA0002 and will come up for a House vote shortly. The Equal Rights Amendment will not help women; instead it will harm women, their families, and our society.

The ERA will further entrench abortion in our society and legally mandate taxpayer funding for elective abortions. The New Mexico Supreme Court recently ruled under their state ERA that since only women undergo abortions, the denial of taxpayer funding is "sex discrimination" (N.M. Right to Choose/NARAL v. Johnson, 975 P.2d 841, 1998).

Clearly the ERA will harm women, families, society, and the structure of our government. Please call your state senator and representative and ask them to vote against the ERA. Contact information for legislators can be found at http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx (type in your 9 digit zip code at this site to access your legislators' information). Contact Elise Bouc of Illinois Stop-ERA at 847-465-8903 (ebouc@juno.com) for more information, or if you would like to volunteer your help. Please pass this on to others so that they too can be informed.


Wednesday, February 20, 2008

ERA IS THREATENING AGAIN

The blog is up and running -- giving me a chance to let you know that the old ERA -- the same dangerously simply two sentences -- is still threatening to rise up -- this time out of Judiciary Committee. We have been lobbying our friendly legislators on that committee. We hope it will not be allowed out for a vote, but your prayers for keeping it down are more than welcome.
Welcome to the McHenry County Right to Life blog! Our hope is to keep everyone updated with the latest news as it happens. Elections, events, great local stories... you will be able to find them all here. Please feel free to comment or suggest topics - we are always happy to hear from you.