A bill that passed the Illinois Senate Friday says some anti-abortion groups are becoming increasingly aggressive and deceptive. The bill would specify that the Attorney General’s Office can prosecute anti-abortion women’s clinics for deceptive practice if they mislead women. Attorney General Kwame Raoul proposed the legislation, claiming some women are being told that abortion increases the risk of cancer and infertility.
The Senate’s Republicans say the bill’s aimed at silencing abortion opponents. Sue Rezin spoke against it on the Senate floor.
Sen. Win Stoller issued a statement saying the AG’s office already has the power to prosecute fraud and deceptive practice committed by any pregnancy center on either side of the abortion issue. He says Democrats are pushing the legislation “to silence the voice of any Illniois resident who disagrees with their pro-abortion beliefs.”
Raoul vowed last October to vigorously prosecute anyone who threatens or commits violence against an abortion clinic. WCMY News asked about non-abortion clinics, because some in other states had also reported being threatened. Some of the threats were attributed to a purported collective called Jane’s Revenge. An Attorney General’s Office spokesperson told WCMY no one was available to talk about it.
In the General Assembly: SB1909