{"id":295465,"date":"2023-07-28T09:44:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T14:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=295465"},"modified":"2023-07-27T18:04:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T23:04:32","slug":"illinois-bill-silencing-pregnancy-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/illinois-bill-silencing-pregnancy-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois governor signs bill silencing pregnancy resource centers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill on Thursday that effectively targets pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) from helping abortion-minded women.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 1909<\/a>, the “Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act” allows the state attorney general to take action against any PRC for “deceptive action” in dissuading a woman from abortion. Violators could be fined up to $50,000. However, the bill does not specify what “deceptive actions” entail. According to Illinois Right to Life<\/a>, the Deputy Attorney General for Policy repeatedly refused to define “deceptive” as it pertains to the bill during a spring hearing, saying only \u201cwe would evaluate each complaint on a case-by-case basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

PRCs provide pregnant women and their families with a host of services, including prenatal care, pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, STD testing, and maternity and baby items, including food, diapers, furniture, clothing, and more. Many have medical staff on-site. According to a 2022 report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, these centers have saved over 800,000 lives<\/a> in five years. Yet despite the help they offer, many abortion advocates have gone on the attack against these pro-life centers, simply because they do not offer or refer for abortions.<\/p>\n