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UPDATE: Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced on Monday that his office will permanently stop enforcing a state law that was designed to stop pro-life crisis pregnancy centers from discussing the risks of abortion.
SB1909, also known as the Consumer Fraud and Business Practices Act, was signed into law this past summer by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and specifically declared pro-life speech to be a “deceptive business practice,” while exempting pro-abortion speech.
Those accused of violating the law, which targeted anyone who provided “misinformation” with the intent “to interfere with or prevent an individual from seeking to gain entry or access to a provider of abortion or emergency contraception,” would be subject to investigation, injunction, a fine of up to $50,000, and, in the case of pregnancy centers, closure.
Raoul’s decision makes permanent the injunction that was put in place by U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston in response to a lawsuit brought by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), two local pregnancy centers, and two pro-life sidewalk counseling groups.
After listening to four hours of testimony, Judge Johnston described the law as “stupid and very likely unconstitutional” before concluding,
“The bill is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment.”
He continued, “There’s no doubt who the Attorney General wants to win or lose in the marketplace of ideas, but the government doesn’t get to decide that. The people do.”
The ramifications of this permanent injunction are likely to go beyond Illinois. Several other states have enacted, or are planning to enact, similar laws, according to Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, which represented the pro-life plaintiffs in Illinois.
In a statement, he wrote: “We hope this permanent injunction, with full attorney’s fees, serves as a warning to other states that would seek to follow Illinois and try to silence pro-life viewpoints.”
Thomas Glessner, founder and president of NIFLA, celebrated the announcement, calling it a “huge win” for Illinois pregnancy centers and the thousands of women they serve.He stated,
“SB1909 was an absolute weaponization of government that unfairly and unconstitutionally targeted pregnancy centers simply because they refused to refer for or perform abortions. Let this be a stern example of what awaits those who attempting to pass and enforce similar laws—look to Illinois and save taxpayer dollars for actually helping their communities instead of going after organizations that help women and their families.”
{Published August 1, 2023} A lawsuit has been filed by pro-life pregnancy centers in order to gain a restraining order against an Illinois law that specifically targets them, attempts to force them to speak government-approved messages about abortion, censors their speech, and labels them as purveyors of deceptive business practices.
The law, SB1909, authored by Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, claims that pregnancy resource centers, defined as any pregnancy clinic that does not offer or refer patients for abortions, are purveyors of deceptive business practices and therefore subject to hefty fines.
Raoul and other supporters of the law have made slanderous and false claims about crisis pregnancy centers and specifically wrote the law to target pro-life pregnancy centers.
Despite their claims that these nonprofits operate using deceptive business practices and harm women, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed that there have been no complaints filed against pro-life pregnancy clinics in 10 years.
On Thursday, attorneys with the Thomas More Society filed a lawsuit against Raoul seeking to stop him from enforcing the law. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of pro-life pregnancy clinics. The suit claims,
“SB1909 goes far beyond traditional restrictions on deceptive business practices, in part by stating in its express legislative intent that it unapologetically targets alleged pro-life misinformation—that is, controverted facts about abortion that the Illinois General Assembly majority believes are not among the ‘orthodox’ views on the subject.”
Moreover, it states:
“The Illinois Attorney General’s Office, which authored and will enforce SB1909, confirmed during legislative hearings on SB1909 that the law could prohibit pro-life pregnancy centers from stating that ‘Life begins at conception’ or require them to speak the State’s viewpoint that childbirth is allegedly associated with a 14-times-greater risk of death than abortion, despite studies contradicting that view and in the teeth of the pro-life position that abortion poses a 100% risk of death for the unborn child. But now, speaking common pro-life views as part of a pregnancy help ministry, or failing to speak the State’s pro-abortion views on hotly disputed issues, is illegal under state law, on pain of crippling fines, injunctions, and attorney fees.”
Meanwhile, “abortion facilities (as well as expressly exempted licensed healthcare providers and hospitals) remain free to engage in their own controversial speech about abortion, as they wish.”
The suit claims that far from helping a woman make an informed decision, the law, by stopping a woman from hearing any data or positions that oppose the state’s belief system, will force her to make the only decision the state approves of.
Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation at the Thomas More Society, said in a statement,
“This law is a blatant attempt to chill and silence pro-life speech under the guise of ‘consumer protection’. Pregnancy help ministries provide real options and assistance to women and families in need, but instead of the praise they deserve, pro-abortion politicians are targeting these ministries with $50,000 fines and injunctions solely because of their pro-life viewpoint.”
To say this law stands on shaky legal ground is an understatement. This is one of the most blatantly unconstitutional laws in recent history. This is the government establishing orthodox views on a highly controversial topic, attempting to compel others to speak those views, attempting to silence opposing religious and scientific positions, and targeting religious groups because of their religious beliefs.
It is hard to grasp a state in the United States creating a law for the sole purpose of singling out and fining religious nonprofits due to their views. Under the Constitution, the government cannot enforce a law designed to punish only religious citizens. Laws must be neutral.
The First Amendment protects against this type of religious persecution. Because the left cannot win the abortion debate when people know the truth and are given hope, it moves to crush pro-life pregnancy centers. The left’s war on charitable organizations that provide services to women shows the hate in their hearts. The left doesn’t actually care about women or their babies, just abortion and the profit it provides.
This suit must result in victory, and if it gets a fair hearing by neutral, Constitution-minded judges, it will.
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