Illinois Proves Pro-Life Movement Still on the Offensive
by Staff
April 1, 2010
CHICAGO, (christiansunite.com) -- Recent victories for the pro-life movement in Illinois demonstrate that the movement is still alive and well, despite the lingering sting of the passage of national health care legislation including federal funding for abortions. The Pro-Life Action League is celebrating wins in Springfield and Chicago that indicate the pro-life cause will not be set back by "Obamacare;" rather, it makes it even more important for prayer warriors, sidewalk counselors, protesters and pro- life supporters to continue to fight for life inside and outside the Illinois border.On Friday, new legislation passed in the Illinois House of Representatives without HB6205, the "Reproductive Health and Access Act" (RHAA) bill that would have made abortion a "fundamental right" in Illinois and required taxpayer funding of Medicaid abortions. A statewide pro-life campaign of prayer, calls, e-mails and visits with state reps convinced legislators to table the bill for the second year in a row, as it never came to the floor for a vote.
Yesterday, a judge dismissed a case brought by the ACLU challenging the validity of Illinois' Parental Notice of Abortion Act. Pro-lifers have fought to see the Act enforced since it was first signed into law in 1995. The law remains stayed while the ACLU appeals the ruling, but the Pro-Life Action League is hopeful teenage girls in Illinois will soon be legally protected from secret abortions.
"The fact that we are able to celebrate two recent victories in Illinois, even in the face of the national health care bill that passed last week, shows that the pro- life movement is gaining ground in Illinois," said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League. "We hope to use this renewed vigor to fight for the lives of the unborn and their mothers across the country and put an end to abortion in America."
About the Pro-Life Action League
The Pro-Life Action League was founded by Joseph M. Scheidler in 1980 with the aim of saving unborn children through non-violent direct action. Through prayer vigils outside abortion facilities and sidewalk counseling, the League reaches out to abortion-bound women and couples with abortion alternatives, confidential counseling and access to pregnancy resources. Since July 2007, the League has been at the center of the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood's flagship abortion facility in Aurora, Ill., dubbed, "Ground Zero" of the abortion battle by abortion supporters and opponents alike. The League has closed eight abortion clinics in Chicago alone and nearly a hundred across the country. The Pro-Life Action League is a nonprofit organization, supported solely by private donations. For more information, visit www.prolifeaction.org.
