Guest columnist Amy Gehrke: Public rejects extremism of Illinois abortion policy
Roe v. Wade created an erroneous "right" to abortion that has no standing in the United States Constitution. We believe that the leak of the United States Supreme Court draft ruling on Monday was an egregious act that threatens the function of the high court. The ensuing reaction from abortion advocates illustrates that most of them believe protecting contrived "abortion rights" justifies any means, no matter how destructive.
Last night via social media, as well as today during a morning press conference, we heard a lot of talk from Gov. Pritzker and some Illinois Democrats about trusting women. Gov. Pritzker's actions have shown that he doesn't respect women, let alone trust them. By signing the repeal of Parental Notice of Abortion Act in December 2021, Gov. Pritzker has put little girls at the mercy of sexual predators who will soon be able to cover their crimes with abortion.
Children's parents will no longer even be told that their minor daughter is having an abortion. With the Reproductive Health Act, Pritzker has endangered women by removing abortion clinics from under the umbrella of ambulatory surgical centers - meaning they regulate themselves and that nail salons in Illinois face tougher inspections than abortion clinics. Coroners are no longer required to investigate the deaths of women at abortion clinics. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Illinois's abortion extremism.
The public, by and large, rejects this extremism and supports reasonable restrictions on abortion, reasonable restrictions that Pritzker and his allies have erased from our state. By supporting such laws, Gov. Pritzker and many of our legislators have shown they care more about doing the will of the abortion industry than the will of their constituents.
Completely lost in this discussion is the tiny victim, the preborn child. Abortion advocates have completely ignored the fact that many biologists agree that life begins at conception and that preborn children are fully human.
Every abortion brutally takes the life of an unborn child and puts that child's mother at extreme risk for both emotional and physical harm. The focus of Illinois Right to Life will remain on restoring protection to the most vulnerable in our state and ensuring their mothers have the resources they need to choose life as well as parent confidently.
• Amy Gehrke is executive director of Illinois Right to Life, former vice president for advancement and development of Wisconsin Right to Life and a former staff member at the National Right to Life Committee in Washington, D.C.