Sangamon Sun

Kara Gray is baffled about where lawmakers in Springfield get the idea that most Illinoisans are in support of legislation that critics insist will turn the state into the “abortion capital of the country.”

“I know there are a record-breaking number of witness slips that have been signed in opposition to it,” Gray, executive director of Pregnancy Care Center of Springfield, told the Sangamon Sun. “Given that, and how things have been handled, you can’t say that the public has been treated fairly.”

Known as the Reproductive Health Act, Senate Bill 25 was passed in the House by a vote of 65-40 over the Memorial Day weekend with amended language in the bill only being made public just minutes before the it was to be a called for a vote. Critics claim that was all done by design to fulfill House Speaker Mike Madigan's wish that the bill crosses the finish line.

“I don’t know for sure what they’re thinking, but I can tell you as an agency we are pro-life and we are not in agreement with their actions,” Gray said.

As currently constructed, SB 25 would remove such provisions from the Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 as partial-birth abortions, waiting periods and criminal penalties for physicians who perform abortions. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker has already urged his Democratic majority to “take swift action.”

Among the House Democrats who cast votes in favor of the measure were Reps. Anthony DeLuca (Chicago Heights) and Karina Villa (West Chicago), both of whom partly campaigned based on their religious affiliations.

“I would say it’s definitely hypocritical to vote in favor of something like this over what’s supposed to be your Christian morals,” Gray said.