Anti-PRC Bill Advancing in Illinois House of Representatives

We are asking pro-life advocates to file witness slips against a dangerous piece of legislation that could shut down pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) throughout the state. The Illinois House of Representatives Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee announced that it plans to consider SB1909 at a hearing on April 25, 2023. If the bill passes this committee, it will move on to the full Illinois House.

Click here to file a witness slip against SB1909.

After filling out the form with your information, make sure to click the boxes titled "opponent" to signal opposition to SB1909.

You can write "self" in the "Firm/Business or Agency" field and "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Mrs." in the "Title field.

Finally, click "record of appearance only" to file the witness slip.

After passing SB1909 in the Illinois Senate, pro-abortion legislators are advancing the bill in the Illinois House of Representatives. This legislation, titled the "Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act," threatens pro-life pregnancy resource centers with legal action for trying to dissuade mothers from choosing abortion.

It appears that the House of Representatives is abandoning HB2463, the original sister bill to SB1909. Instead, the House will simply push the Senate's bill. The Senate passed amendments to SB1909 that softened it somewhat, but pro-life advocates fear the bill might require PRCs to refer women for abortions.

The "Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act" threatens legal action against PRCs that allegedly use "deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation, or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact" to persuade women against abortion or offer pregnancy-related services.

Pro-life groups take particular issue with the vague "omission of any material fact" language. "Material fact" is not defined by the bill. If a judge decides that information regarding where a pregnant mother can have an abortion constitutes a "material fact," then a PRC could be convicted for refusing to refer a mother to an abortion business.