Governor Rauner goes back on his word to provide tax dollars for abortion

Against the wishes of some 60% of their constituents, the Illinois House representatives passed HB 40 to provide public funding for abortions on 25 April 2017 and the Illinois Senate approved the legislation on 11 May 2017.

At the time, Governor Bruce Rauner promised to veto the legislation, though yesterday he showed himself to have lied when he signed HB 40 bill into law. Frankly, I'm not surprised.

Following the Governor's going back on his word to Illinoisans, the Catholic Conference of Illinois issued the following statement:

We are deeply disturbed that Governor Rauner has broken his word and firm public promise to veto HB 40. In effect, he is the first governor to enact a law for state funding of abortion. 

Governor Rauner, together with the legislators who voted for this misguided legislation, will now force Illinois taxpayers to pay for the taking of human life, in this case that of a defenseless child in the womb. 

We remain dedicated to advocating for the dignity and sanctity of human life from conception to natural death and will work to convince the public and our elected officials about the grave moral error this legislation represents.

I will soon write to the Governor to express my great disappointment at having been lied to, and hope you will do the same.

Yet another sad day in Illinois - HB 40 passes the Senate

25 April 2017 marked a sad day in the history and future of the State of Illinois as the House passed HB 40, a bill that would not only make abortion legal in Illinois should Roe v. Wade be overturned but would also allow taxpayer dollars to be used to pay for abortions. Yesterday marked yet another sad day in the history and future of Illinois as HB 40 passed the Senate less than twenty-four hours after it cleared the Senate committee.

Following its unfortunate passage, the Catholic Conference of Illinois issued the following statement, with my emphases:

We are dismayed the Illinois Senate followed the House in passing House Bill 40, which allows taxpayer monies to pay for elective abortions in the Medicaid program and state employees’ health insurance plans. Public opinion polls regularly show little support for this public policy move. We thank Governor Bruce Rauner for his promise to veto House Bill 40, and we will continue to make our voices heard in the coming days about this troubling legislation.

I hope and pray the Governor will hold to his promise.

His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, also released statement shortly after the passage of HB 40 (with my emphases):

The hasty manner in which this appalling legislation that forces taxpayers to pay for abortions was rubber stamped today by the Illinois Senate shows the disregard most Illinois legislators have for the sanctity of human life. Thirty-three Senate votes in favor mirrors the majority that HB 40 received in the Illinois House just last week. I applaud the courage shown by 22 state senators who stood up today for life. 

Make no mistake about the intent. This legislation was orchestrated to pass as quickly as possible to silence dissent on the issue of protecting the unborn by masking it behind the facade of women’s health care. It is also designed to place political pressure on the legislators who dare to stand up to lavishly-funded special interests, primarily Planned Parenthood of Illinois. Passage is also designed to intimidate Gov. Bruce Rauner with the threat that he will jeopardize his political future if he fulfills his promise to veto HB 40. 

We ask that people of good will and the love of God join me in praying for Gov. Rauner to follow through and to protect the unborn children of this state.

You can found out how your Senator voted here; I am happy to say my Senator voted against this heinous legislation.

If your Senator voted in favor of HB 40, please contact him or her to offer a kind word of rebuke; if he or she voted against HB 40, please contact your Senator to offer a word of gratitude and encouragement. Either way, make it know that you will remember this vote at the next election. Please also write to the Governor to encourage him to keep his word.

Another sad day in Illinois - HB 40 passes the House

Following the passage of HB 40, which provides, among other things, tax payer dollars for abortions, by the Illinois House, the Catholic Conference of Illinois released the following statement:

Catholic Conference laments House passage of taxpayer funding of abortions 

CHICAGO – The head of the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops today lamented Illinois House passage of legislation authorizing the use of taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions for Medicaid recipients and state employees. 

Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, criticized lawmakers for turning a moral argument into campaign fodder. 

“Elected representatives today chose raw politics over the innocent lives of the unborn,” Gilligan said. 

Today’s passage of House Bill 40 denoted the culmination of a legislative spring break marked by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s promise to veto the legislation, which was quickly followed by accusations of broken campaign promises. Cardinal Blase Cupich of the Archdiocese of Chicago last week issued a public statement in which he thanked the governor for his “principled stand” to veto HB 40. 

“Abortion is a controversial issue in this country, but using public money to provide abortions should not be,” Cardinal Cupich stated. 

Public opinion polls indicate strong opposition to public funding of abortion. A January 2017 poll conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion for the Knights of Columbus shows that 61 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, including 40 percent of those who say they are pro-choice.

Only 15 states currently pay for elective abortions for Medicaid participants, and 11 of those states do so through a court order, not legislative action. 

Gilligan stressed the House’s vote represented a dangerous misplacement of priorities, especially when the state has not had a budget for 22 months and has nearly $13 billion in overdue bills. 

“The state can’t pay for essential services, and lawmakers are funding elective abortions – where is the logic in that?” he said. 

Illinois’ Catholic bishops have lobbied hard against House Bill 40, issuing letters to parishioners urging them to contact their state representatives to vote against the measure. Cardinal Cupich and the other bishops noted that a better use of taxpayer money in such dire fiscal times would be to fund prenatal services for the poor and child care for working mothers, as well as expand health-care options for those in need. 

HB 40 passed the House on a 62-55 vote, and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

I'm happy to say that my State Representative, Sara Wojcicki-Jimenez (R-IL-99th), voted against HB40. I'll be writing to thank her for her vote and will urge my State Senator to vote against the bill when it comes before the Illinois Senate.

If you do not know who your elected officials are, you may find out here. You can see how your Representative voted here.

Life in Illinois: Where the Election Code apparently also concerns the funding of abortion

His Excellency the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, has written a letter to the faithful of his diocese to alert them a particularly troubling piece of legislation soon to come before the Illinois General Assembly, HB 40, which is supposed to amend the Election Code.

The text of Bishop Paprocki's letter follows, with my emphases:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

I am writing to alert you about a bill that is pending before the Illinois legislature that, if passed, would use your tax dollars to pay for the taking of innocent human lives through abortion.  The bill is HB 40, and I am told that it may pass if there is not a strong outcry against it. 

Since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade, our country has endured the termination of more than 57 million lives.  We are working hard to build a culture of life by advocating for laws that make it easier to bring a child into this world.  And we are succeeding – the national abortion rate is at its lowest since Roe v. Wade was handed down.  Unfortunately, the enactment of House Bill 40 would set back those efforts by coercing all who pay taxes to indirectly support the taking of innocent human life.  It is worth noting that abortion is an elective procedure and using state tax dollars to pay for it is not only immoral, but also an injustice.  A far better use of tax money would be to fund prenatal services for the poor and child care for working mothers, as well as expand health care options for those in need.  

House Bill 40 not only mandates state support of abortion, but it would also include abortion coverage in state employees’ health care plans and the Medicaid program.  Additionally, the bill allows taxpayer money to fund grants to organizations such as Planned Parenthood that refer, counsel for, and perform abortions.  

The Catholic Conference of Illinois, which serves as the public policy arm of the Catholic bishops, has long joined with Catholic Charities and Catholic health care organizations to advocate that essential services be funded. However, as we have seen over the past few years and in the current budget stalemate, their efforts have largely been ignored by state lawmakers and officials.  We have to ask why our elected representatives would turn their backs on paying for programs that help the disabled, the elderly, children in need and students, yet find the will to publicly fund the terrible tragedy of abortion.  Please contact your state representative to vote against this bill. 

If you need assistance in determining the name of your lawmaker, or in sending a message to him or her, go to www.ilcatholic.org or call the Catholic Conference at its Chicago office at 312-368-1066 or its Springfield office at 217-528-9200.

One might well ask what the Election Code has to do with the funding of abortions, but such is the quality of the General Assembly these days.

Remember, those we elect to public office are supposed to represent us and our interests. If we do not contact them to tell them what we think about certain pieces of legislation, they cannot represent us. Please, pick up your telephones and your pens and urge your representative to vote against HB 40.