Friends,

The Reproductive Health Act and the repeal of parental notification continue to be pressed in the IL House and Senate. At this point, the Parental Notice repeal bill has moved to the Senate Floor. But both extreme pro-abortion bills linger in subcommittee in the IL House. They are both on the docket again for a hearing this Wednesday morning. This means now is the time, again, to file witness slips against these two bills. Witness slips can be filed again for this hearing, even if you’ve filed them in the past. There is a deadline: they must be filed before the end of the committee meeting on Wednesday morning. Please get them in by first thing Wednesday morning, if you can! And most of all, please keep praying that abortion will end in this country and in our state.

-Pastor Braaten

Please File Witness Slips. This is how you as a citizen (age 13 and up) can make your voice heard to the committees considering these bills. Whenever a bill comes up again for hearing, new witness slips are allowed. This means if you filed a witness slip for a previous hearing, please file them again.

• Go to this website for HB2495: http://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/118530?committeeHearingId=16861&LegislationId=118530&LegislationDocumentId=149652&HCommittees4%2F2%2F2019-page=1&committeeid=0&chamber=H&nodays=7&_=1553606143855&GridCurrentCommittees-page=2
• Fill in your information. For three fields put “Self”: Firm/Business; Title; Persons, groups firms represented in this appearance.
• Click OPPONENT under Position.
• Click “Record of Appearance Only” under Testimony.
• Click “I Agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement”.
• Click button “Create(Slip)”
• Go to this website for HB2467 and repeat steps above: http://my.ilga.gov/WitnessSlip/Create/118475?committeeHearingId=16861&LegislationId=118475&LegislationDocumentId=149598&HCommittees4%2F2%2F2019-page=1&committeeid=0&chamber=H&nodays=7&_=1553606143855&GridCurrentCommittees-page=2

What do HB2495/SB1942 and HB2467/SB1594 enact?

HB2495/SB1942, the Reproductive Health Act, makes multiple changes to the State’s abortion laws. Highlights include:

• Allows abortion at any gestational age, for any reason. Also allows partial-birth abortion and may allow for allowing surviving babies to die.
• Requires every health insurance policy offered in the State to cover abortion at no extra cost, with no exemptions.
• Allows basically anyone to perform an abortion with no legal consequence.
• May remove conscience protections from doctors and facilities who do not wish to perform, or refer for, abortions.
• A quote from the bill suffices: “A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the laws of this State.”

HB2467/SB1594 repeals the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act, which would allow an abortion to be hidden from parents. It also opens wide the door for all sorts of abuses of vulnerable young women.