Morgan group joins anti-abortion fight

Dec. 01--The Morgan County chapter of Right to Life is among more than a dozen groups and lawmakers who have filed a lawsuit challenging a law that expands taxpayer-funded abortions.

The suit was filed Thursday in Sangamon Circuit Court by the Thomas More Society, a conservative pro-life law firm based in Chicago.

Linda Curtis, president of the Morgan County Right to Life group, said the lawsuit is in response to legislation that will allow taxpayer money to be used to fund elective abortions.

The controversial House Bill 40 was signed into law in September by Gov. Bruce Rauner and goes into effect Jan. 1. It expands abortion coverage under Medicaid and state employee health plans.

Inside the House, lawmakers spent more than two hours debating the measure, which would allow women to use Medicaid coverage and state employee health insurance for abortions. Democrats said the plan also would help ensure abortion remains legal in Illinois if the landmark Roe v. Wade case were overturned.

Although the governor's decision to sign the bill into law drew strong support from abortion-rights groups, it has been strongly criticized by others.

"Gov. Rauner claimed that he'd veto the bill, but he signed it instead," Curtis said. "Illinois has been changing the language in a lot of bills, from when life begins to abortion rights."

By using state taxpayer money to expand coverage for abortions, Curtis said, her group and the others believe the law violates their religious beliefs.

"It's always been that taxpayers do not pay for these abortions," Curtis said. "I feel like it's murdering a human being. Because it permits tax funding, Right to Life would feel it's going against our religious freedom to pay for it."

While previous laws allowed coverage in the cases of health complications, rape or incest, elective abortions were not covered.

Jeanne Strubbe, a member of Illinois Valley Lutherans for Life, said she supports the decision to sue, although her group is not among those initiating the court action.

"The bottom line of the governor's actions in signing this legislation into law is the result will be more babies are going to be slaughtered in the womb and the hard-working people of Illinois will be on the hook for funding that action," she said.

In addition to believing abortion is morally wrong, she said she also considers the legislation fiscally irresponsible.

"It has been estimated that this new law allowing unrestricted Medicaid abortions could end up costing the state $22 million annually," Strubbe said. "Setting aside the fact that more abortions will occur, wouldn't that money be better spent on education or any number of badly needed infrastructure projects? Sadly, our governor didn't think so and instead chose to sign a law, which by its very nature, will result in the deaths of more babies through abortion."

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

------

5:43 am |

Plan would pull out of voter database

5:40 am |

Maintenance resulting in bridge closure

5:24 am |

Photo: All decked out

___

(c)2017 the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.)

Visit the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.) at www.myjournalcourier.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.