{"id":1989372,"date":"2023-08-03T03:46:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T07:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-seek-injunction-from-spiteful-illinois-law-meant-to-shut-down-pregnancy-centers\/"},"modified":"2023-08-03T03:50:24","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T07:50:24","slug":"pro-lifers-seek-injunction-from-spiteful-illinois-law-meant-to-shut-down-pregnancy-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-seek-injunction-from-spiteful-illinois-law-meant-to-shut-down-pregnancy-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-life advocates seek injunction against Illinois law targeting pregnancy centers."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpro-lifers-seek-injunction-from-spiteful-illinois-law-meant-to-shut-down-pregnancy-centers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1989372&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2>Illinois\u2019 Senate Bill \u200b1909: A Threat to Life-Saving Pregnancy Centers<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Illinois\u2019 Senate Bill 1909, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/04\/illinois-dems-work-to-shut-down-life-saving-pregnancy-centers-with-vague-deceptive-practices-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">which could\u2064 shut down life-saving pregnancy \u200ccenters<\/a>, was signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week. Attorneys with the <a href=\"https:\/\/uploads-ssl.webflow.com\/63d954d4e4ad424df7819d46\/64c2b786ca4beef8379cfa24_1-0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Thomas More \u200cSociety immediately filed a federal lawsuit, <em>NIFLA et al.\u200b v. Raoul<\/em><\/a>,\u200c seeking a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-georgia-update-judge-issues-restraining-order-for-10-days-preventing-defendants-from-destroying-or-erasing-dominion-voting-machines\/\" title=\"BREAKING GEORGIA UPDATE: Judge Issues Restraining Order for 10 Days Preventing Defendants from Destroying or Erasing Dominion Voting Machines\">temporary restraining order<\/a> and permanent injunction from the bill.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>SB 1909\u2019s title, \u201cDeceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act,\u201d shows how state abortion proponents aim to put pregnancy centers under suspicion. But the evidence tells a different story. \u200dPregnancy centers have a record of providing critical medical help \u2064to thousands of women experiencing unexpected \u200bpregnancies. Detractors \u2062have failed to demonstrate why these centers require special fraud laws beyond what already exists.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-436262184\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1b4c7b4eaed45677f7fe0892a6cf2225 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1b4c7b4eaed45677f7fe0892a6cf2225\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhat \u2063this act does is \u200ballow the attorney general\u2019s office to investigate situations, to investigate such claims that are under the Consumer \u200dFraud and Deceptive Practices Act,\u201d said Terra Costa Howard, Illinois representative \u2062and chief House sponsor \u2062of SB 1909\u200d at an April 25 Health Care Availability and Accessibility Committee (HCAAC) hearing. When signing the\u2062 bill, the \u200dgovernor similarly claimed the \u200dbill \u201c[empowers] \u200b the attorney \u200bgeneral\u2019s office to battle deceptive\u200c practices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, according to\u2064 the attorney \u2063general\u2019s office, they \u200dalready have \u2063the \u200cability to investigate such\u200b situations without SB 1909. This\u2063 was admitted during \u200ca March 29 Senate Executive Committee hearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[T]his bill clarifies our ability \u200cto already do this under the Consumer Fraud Act,\u201d \u200bsaid Ashley Hokenson, Illinois deputy attorney general.\u200b \u201cUnder the Consumer Fraud Act, \u200dwe can already bring claims for unfair \u2064and deceptive practices.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>What Fraud Is Being\u2064 Fought?<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the\u200d attorney general\u200d office\u2019s admission, supporters of\u2062 SB 1909 have\u200d been unable to identify a pattern \u200bof supposed deceptive legal violations by the pregnancy\u200b help industry.\u200d Nor have they been able to explain why the\u200b attorney general has not availed existing\u200b fraud law \u2064if a pattern of past violations actually existed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-39b552743bec170fe8079997322c1da3 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-39b552743bec170fe8079997322c1da3\"><\/div>\n<p>A client of \u200cthe Thomas More \u200bSociety \u200claw firm filed a Freedom of \u2063Information \u200bAct request for Illinois complaints over \u2063the past 10 years. The results of that request revealed no verifiable complaints against \u200cIllinois \u200bpregnancy centers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe attorney general has actually received zero \u2062complaints from members\u200c of the public against \u2064an Illinois pregnancy\u200b help center for alleged violations of the Deceptive Business\u2063 Practices Act,\u201d\u2062 said Peter Breen, vice president and head of litigation of the Thomas More Society and former Illinois state representative. \u201cThe handful of documents we received were about squabbles\u2064 on the sidewalk or where an ultrasound van should park. None of the complaints resulted in any legal action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the First Amendment context, the\u2062 burden is\u200b on the\u200b government to show that it needs whatever new regulations are being proposed,\u201d Breen \u200dsaid. \u201cBut here, in addition to there being no\u200b actual complaints, the attorney general\u2019s\u200c office has to\u2064 show that it\u2019s used its immediately available legal means, \u200cwhich \u200bis the existing Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act; Department of \u2064Financial, Professional\u200b Regulation Acts; and otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Costa Howard claimed she knew \u200c\u201cstory after\u200d story\u201d of lies told to\u2064 women at pregnancy centers. Bill supporters ultimately showed themselves as opponents of a fictional caricature of what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-unorthodox-pro-life-bills-advancing-in-state-legislatures\/\" title=\"Five Unorthodox Pro-Life Bills Advancing In State Legislatures\">pregnancy resource centers<\/a> are. \u201cThese fake clinics\u2062 were set \u200dup specifically to\u2064 deceive\u200d patients who are \u200bseeking reproductive healthcare,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/illinoisattorneygeneral.gov\/news\/story\/attorney-general-raouls-legislation-to-address-deceptive-practices-by-crisis-pregnancy-centers-headed-to-governors-desk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Howard.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4d3a99e8432776868ab1c75c15a80a96 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4d3a99e8432776868ab1c75c15a80a96\"><\/div>\n<p>Opponents of the bill recognized SB 1909\u2019s lack of grounding. \u2063\u201cWe need sound proof,\u201d\u200c said Illinois\u200d Rep. Kevin Schmidt to the bill\u2019s supporters. \u201cAnd you don\u2019t \u2064have any proof.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Time and\u2064 again, bill supporters failed to account for\u2064 the objections, but \u200bthey passed the legislation anyway, most recently in the House on May 11. The representatives\u2019 votes did not reflect\u2063 that of the Illinois public. Witness slips, by \u200cwhich Illinois\u2064 citizens can formally voice their opinion for or against a\u200d bill, overwhelmingly opposed the bill by 18,116 to \u200b3,945.<\/p>\n<p>Of additional concern, the attorney general\u2019s office issued conflicting statements regarding the enforcement of SB 1909 if it were elevated to \u2063law. After the March 29 and April 25 committee hearings, the attorney general\u2019s office\u200b issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/illinoisattorneygeneral.gov\/news\/story\/attorney-general-raoul-applauds-house-committee-passage-of-legislation-to-address-deceptive-practices-by-crisis-pregnancy-centers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">press release<\/a> \u200c applauding each \u200bpartisan \u200dvote. Both\u2063 releases included a personal anecdote from\u2063 the AG.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-seek-injunction-from-spiteful-illinois-law-meant-to-shut-down-pregnancy-centers\/\" title=\"Pro-life advocates seek injunction against Illinois law targeting pregnancy centers.\">experienced deceptive crisis pregnancy center\u200b tactics firsthand<\/a>,\u201d said Illinois Attorney General\u200b Kwame Raoul. \u201cPeople who appeared as though they might work there were outside attempting to divert us \u200caway from \u200bthe health center.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, the attorney general\u2019s office elsewhere denied that scenario \u200bwould be considered deceptive \u2062under SB 1909. During the April hearing, Deputy Attorney \u2063General Hokenson insisted \u2063the bill \u201conly applies\u201d \u2063to pregnancy\u200d center\u200b staff \u2062and that people with \u201ca sign and standing in front of \u2064Planned Parenthood would not fall under this bill.\u201d Although\u200d the AG claims to have witnessed a \u201cdeceptive\u201d act relevant to SB 1909, he took \u2063no action against \u200dit\u2064 under the \u200dvery laws his \u2062office \u2063confirms were \u2062available to him.<\/p>\n<h2>No Definition of Deception<\/h2>\n<p>During the hearings, the \u200cattorney general\u2019s office would not define the boundaries\u2062 for what constituted a deceptive practice. It planned to \u2062decide \u2064after the \u2064fact. For example, the bill states it would be misleading to conceal data \u201cthat shows the risk of death associated with childbirth is approximately 14 times higher than the risk of death associated with an\u200d abortion.\u201d However, State Sen. Sue Rezin cited another medical study that reveals the flaw in the study, referenced by SB 1909, because \u201cabortion reporting is not required by federal law\u201d and therefore\u200c adverse effects of abortion\u2063 are under-reported. \u2064Rezin asked\u200b if the attorney general would initiate\u200b a deceptive practices investigation if a pregnancy center\u200d cited such contrary \u200cdata.<\/p>\n<p>Hokenson replied, \u201cWe would evaluate \u2064on\u200b a case-by-case basis.\u201d She responded\u200d to \u2064similar questions with\u200b that verbatim noncommittal answer\u2063 at\u200b least a dozen times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese \u2026 items are \u200dhotly disputed between pro-life and pro-choice advocates,\u201d said\u200d Breen. \u201cAnd the government can\u2019t shut down a public\u2064 debate on issues like this or otherwise \u200bforce or coerce people of faith, who have good faith beliefs \u2026 into delivering a government\u2063 talking point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bill proponents are \u201ctargeting one side\u200b of\u200d the argument,\u201d Rep. William Hauter \u200cadded at the\u200d HCAAC hearing.<\/p>\n<h2>Challenged in Court<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.decaturtribune.com\/2023\/05\/11\/illinois-freedom-caucus-reacts-to-house-approval-of-anti-pro-life-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Several state representatives condemned the bill\u2019s passage<\/a>. \u2062\u201cThis legislation is\u2062 not about \u200dprotecting anyone but the monsters in our state who \u2064celebrate the brutal murder of innocent children as a \u2018right,\u2019\u201d they\u200c wrote. \u200d\u201c[The bill] is an overt persecution of people whose only crime is\u200c disagreeing\u200b with the abortion death cult. Senate Bill 1909 \u2064will be challenged in court. It will be \u200boverturned, and we will continue to speak out against the extreme positions of \u2062the \u2063pro-abortion advocates in \u200dour state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although the language of the bill claims to\u200b facilitate a woman\u2019s \u201cinformed\u201d decision, SB 1909 obstructs informed decisions. The federal lawsuit recognizes the irony, stating \u200bthat SB 1909 reduces the ability of a pregnant woman to \u200creceive information necessary to make\u2064 an\u2064 informed \u2063decision. Instead, the law\u2063 allows \u201conly the limited data \u2063approved by the state, instead of\u2064 allowing \u200dher\u2062 to hear both \u200bsides\u2019 advocacy and\u2062 information before making an abortion \u200cdecision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, it\u200b is \u2064the defendants in the lawsuit who \u2063are the ones being deceptive.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4c9f068316ed635f15aca336ca6d7013 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4c9f068316ed635f15aca336ca6d7013\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1909, potentially closing pregnancy centers. The Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit, NIFLA et al. v. Raoul, to halt the bill. They seek a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction against SB 1909, titled &#8220;Deceptive Practices of Limited Services.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1916,"featured_media":1989373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1989372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1916"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1989372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1989372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1989373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1989372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1989372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1989372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}