Starting January 1, every abortion clinic in Illinois will be required to refer those who come seeking its services to one of the many nonprofit pregnancy-care centers in the state, established to help pregnant women understand that there are alternatives to abortion, and to provide those alternatives.  Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the bill into law on the last business day of July, following a concerted campaign by abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood to convince the governor to veto the legislation.  Though Rauner had vowed in his 2014 gubernatorial campaign to avoid social issues, he decided that protecting the health of women and unborn children was worth going back on his word.  Disappointed but resigned to the new legislation, Planned Parenthood of Illinois declared in a prepared statement that the law would change nothing: “Presented with alternatives to abortion, women, we are confident, will continue to make the right choice and end their pregnancies.”

And if you believe any of that, I have a big, beautiful wall to sell you.

Actually, some of what I wrote above is true: Governor Rauner did vow to avoid social issues, presenting himself instead as a pro-business Republican who would dig Illinois out of a bottomless fiscal pit.  And in the final hours of the final Friday in July, he did break that vow in order to sign legislation that will take effect at the beginning of next year.  But rather than protecting the health of women and unborn children by providing mothers with information that might help them to choose an alternative to abortion, the law requires every nonprofit pregnancy-care center in the state to provide both verbal and written referrals for abortion to the women who come to seek their services.  Needless to say, the legislation does not require Planned Parenthood and others who profit from the destruction of children in their mothers’ wombs to reciprocate.

On second thought, I guess Governor Rauner kept his vow after all: He has certainly proved himself to be a pro-business Republican.

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