{"id":213015,"date":"2019-10-25T10:42:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T15:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=213015"},"modified":"2019-10-24T17:18:21","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T22:18:21","slug":"illinois-abortion-law-faces-conscience-protections-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/illinois-abortion-law-faces-conscience-protections-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal group files complaint against Illinois abortion law’s lack of conscience protections"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Illinois\u2019 <\/span>expansive abortion law<\/span><\/a>, the language of which allows for abortions up until birth and removes restrictions on partial-birth abortion, is facing a legal challenge in court over its lack of conscience protections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Thomas More Society filed a <\/span>complaint<\/span><\/a> Monday with the U.S. Health and Human Services\u2019 Office for Civil Rights claiming that the state\u2019s Reproductive Health Act (RHA) violates the Affordable Care Act\u2019s <\/span>conscience protections<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>financial protections<\/span><\/a> that keep taxpayers from funding abortions. Additionally, the organization cited the <\/span>Weldon Amendment<\/span><\/a>, which prevents healthcare entities including individuals, hospitals, and health care plans from being forced to perform or be involved in abortions. And as Live Action has <\/span>previously reported<\/span><\/a>, the RHA forces healthcare companies to cover abortions and ensures taxpayers fund abortion by making it a \u201cfundamental right\u201d that no level of government can impede access to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The complaint was filed on behalf of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society as well as a local dentist, Dr. Richard Mantoan, and his practice. Both employers currently offer traditional employer-based health insurance plans through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. The new mandate requires both businesses to purchase health insurance policies that cover abortions, which, as the complaint states, is \u201crepugnant to our religious and moral principles.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Planned Parenthood spent the last year secretly building an Illinois mega-facility<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThis abortion-coverage mandate is a blatant violation of the religious and conscience rights of many who live or work in Illinois,\u201d said Thomas More Society attorney Michael McHale in a <\/span>press release<\/span><\/a>. \u201cWhile the secular forces behind this mandate often erroneously object to any influence of religion on the state, here they had no hesitation in wielding state power against our sincerely held, common-sense religious beliefs to avoid paying for health insurance coverage of abortion.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood defended the state\u2019s position, as\u00a0<\/span>CapitolFax.com<\/span><\/a> reports: \u201cThe Thomas More Society\u2019s complaint against the Reproductive Health Act is the latest tactic in an ongoing campaign to end access to safe and legal abortion. The Thomas More Society couldn\u2019t stop the Reproductive Health Act in the state legislature, so they are desperately turning to the Trump Administration for help in cutting off access to abortion in Illinois.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other pro-abortion individuals, including original sponsor of the bill Rep. Kelly Cassidy, objected to the Thomas More\u2019s Society\u2019s protection of conscience rights, claiming their opposition to\u00a0 late-term abortion, which is now by law an \u201cessential health benefit,\u201d is \u201cfear mongering.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the biggest red herring of all and completely disrespects both pregnant people and health care professionals in their suggestions that it is anything but a medical tragedy when there is no other option but to end the pregnancy,\u201d stated Cassidy. In fact, as thousands of OB-GYNs<\/a> have said over<\/a> and over again<\/a>, there is no medical reason for abortion, and no reason it should be deemed an \u201cessential health benefit.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the ACLU told the <\/span>State Journal Register<\/span><\/a> that there is a provision to provide health insurance and opt out of the RHA via the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. However, the Act was amended in 2016 with provisions stating that pro-life individuals and institutions (such as <\/span>pregnancy centers<\/span><\/a>) in healthcare must refer for abortions. It is unclear at t his time whether the Right of Conscience Act would be applicable in this case.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illinois\u2019 expansive abortion law, the language of which allows for abortions up until birth and removes restrictions on partial-birth abortion, is facing a legal challenge in court over its lack of conscience protections.\u00a0 The Thomas More Society filed a complaint Monday with the U.S. Health and Human Services\u2019 Office for Civil Rights claiming that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":606,"featured_media":193754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nLegal group files complaint against Illinois abortion law's lack of conscience protections<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/illinois-abortion-law-faces-conscience-protections-challenge\/\" \/>\n<meta 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