McLean County Times

Illinois Sen. Sally Turner (R-44) took to Facebook to share her views on Senate Bill 1909, which she says "unfairly targets" privately funded pregnancy resource centers that don't provide abortion procedures.

In the post on March, 31 Turner wrote that the measure "provides the Illinois Attorney General broad authority to target non-abortion-providing pregnancy centers with so-called deceptive practices." Turner, a member of the Ethics and Senate Higher Education committees, wrote that the bill provides the Attorney General's office with needless authority.

"The Illinois Attorney General has admitted that he already has the authority under consumer protections laws to go after deceptive practices and fraud committed by both these centers as well as centers that provide abortions," she wrote. "If he already has the authority to do this, why does he and the Majority Party need specific legislation to go after only non-abortion providing centers? Unfortunately, the answer appears very simple: They want to force their own beliefs regarding abortions upon all Illinoisans and shutdown or silence anyone who disagrees.”

According to the bill's text, SB1909, which was sponsored by Sen. Celina Villanueva, "Prohibits a limited services pregnancy center from using or employing any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise or misrepresentation, or the concealment, suppression or omission of any material fact, with the intent that others rely upon the concealment, suppression or omission of such material fact: to interfere with an individual seeking to gain entry or access to a provider of abortion or emergency contraception; to induce an individual to enter or access the limited services pregnancy center; in advertising, soliciting or otherwise offering pregnancy-related services; or in conducting, providing or performing pregnancy-related services." 

The bill allows the Attorney General to act when there is evidence that "a limited services pregnancy center has engaged in, is engaging in or is about to engage in any practice declared to be unlawful by the Act; the Attorney General receives a written complaint of the commission of a practice declared to be unlawful under the Act; or the Attorney General believes it to be in the public interest that an investigation should be made to ascertain whether a limited services pregnancy center has engaged in, is engaging in or is about to engage in, any practice declared to be unlawful by the Act."

Illinois Right to Life also argued against the measure, writing that the bill eliminates choices, despite being a pro-choice administration.

"Abortion advocates in the Illinois legislature demand that women have ‘choice’ – but all they’re accomplishing with this bill is eliminating women’s legitimate choices,” Illinois Right to Life Executive Director Mary Kate Zander wrote in a March 31 release. “This bill is written to target pro-life pregnancy resource centers and carve out even more protections for abortion providers. It is a shameful display of politics at the expense of Illinois women.” 

The release added that resource centers provide a variety of services at no cost to women – including pregnancy and infection testing, counseling and ultrasounds, as well as connection to other resources, such as Project Love, Illinois Right to Life’s emergency grant program for pregnant women and mothers.