Illinois: AG Agrees to Permanent Block on Law Which Targeted Pregnancy Centers, “Huge Win” for Pro-Life Groups
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Following a lawsuit filed by the pro-life umbrella group National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), the Attorney General of Illinois has agreed to a permanent injunction nullifying a law that targeted pregnancy crisis centers to ban them from using alleged “misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation in order to interfere with access to abortion services or emergency contraception,” CBN News reports.
In July, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul signed into law the SB 1909 Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act, a piece of legislation which NIFLA and its pro-life co-plaintiffs argued targeted pregnancy centers and undermined their constitutional rights to free speech and religion for no reason other than their pro-life position, CBN reports.
“This law is a blatant attempt to chill and silence protected pro-life speech under the guise of ‘consumer protection,’ while wholly exempting abortion facilities from the same restrictions,'” Peter Breen, Executive Vice President of the Thomas More Society legal group, which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “It is difficult to conceive of a more discriminatory law or one that so flagrantly violates the First Amendment.”
In August, a federal judge ordered a preliminary injunction against Illinois because the law violated the First Amendment, CBN reports. Last week, Raoul agreed to a permanent injunction order that bars the state from enforcing the law.
“We are elated that a permanent injunction has been issued against Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and SB 1909, which ensures the unconstitutional law will never go into effect,” NIFLA president Thomas Glessner said in a statement. “This is a huge win … especially for pregnancy centers in the state, who serve thousands of women in Illinois who are facing unplanned pregnancies – all at no cost.”