Sangamon Sun

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan is celebrating the contents of a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling noting the overturning of Roe vs. Wade abortion rights.

Sullivan said that this is the "kind of change that conservatives can make when they stick together."

“While the decision isn’t official — and could yet be months away — I’m overjoyed at what could be a generational change in the soul of our country," Sullivan stated in a press release. "Prayer works, and my prayer tonight is gratitude. Our prayers, our persistence and our patriotism could save millions of lives for generations to come.” 

Sullivan said good changes can be achieved when there is a focus on "what we can achieve, instead of the politics and politicians that tear us apart.” He also mentioned that under "Gov. J.B. Pritzker and decades of pro-abortion leaders," the state became the abortion destination capital of the Midwest. 

"Abortion tourism, and abortions paid for by Illinois taxpayers, should never be accepted,” Sullivan said. “This Supreme Court decision, which puts more power back in the hands of the states, threatens to make Illinois’s current abortion laws even more heinous, and abortion tourism even more prevalent. We must put an end to late-term, partial birth abortions. We must put an end to taxpayer-funded abortions. We must bring back parental notification for minors. We must make adoptions easier for struggling mothers and more affordable for families called to bring these children into their homes, as our family was.” 

Sullivan urged the public to elect a leader that will provide change that will result in a better state.

“This race for governor is even more clear today — it’s between politicians we can’t trust and the mistakes of the past on one side, and a campaign that proudly puts faith first and a chance to make a real change on the other,” he said. “Today, the difference is life or death.”

The draft opinion was leaked on Monday (May 2), implying a historic overturning of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. The opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is expected to receive a 5-4 vote when finalized. That would allow states to outlaw or restrict the practice.

Prairie State Wire previously reported that abortion facilities in Illinois have been expanding their capacity in anticipation of an influx of patients seeking abortions. In recent years, Planned Parenthood has opened a number of new abortion clinics along Illinois' border with Republican-controlled states. Abortion providers, according to the organization, are bracing for a five-fold increase in abortions.

Sullivan is competing in the gubernatorial race with other GOP candidates including State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, McHenry County businessman Gary Rabine, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, Max Solomon and Emily Johnson. The primary election will take place on June 28.