North Egypt News

Illinois State Rep. David Friess (R-Red Bud) cheered a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston who found a state law that targeted pregnancy crisis centers violated the First Amendment. 

Friess shared his reaction to the ruling on Senate Bill 1909 in an August 4 Facebook post. 

"I am proud to stand with my fellow House Republicans in their resolute opposition to SB1909, which we have consistently contended infringes upon our Constitutional right to free speech," Friess wrote in his post. "The remarks made by US District Judge Johnston aptly highlight the alarming violation of the First Amendment that this bill represents. It is crucial to recognize that crisis pregnancy centers play a vital role in assisting women and serving as an invaluable resource."

Johnston ruled in favor of anti-abortion groups that challenged the law, which passed both the state House and Senate back in May and was sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's (D-IL) office in June. It was signed into law last month. Fox News reported Johnston said the law was “painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment.” Advocates for pregnancy centers testified for several hours that the law infringed on their free speech.

Friess has been vocal about his opposition to the law. In May he issued the following statement: “Illinois is already the most radically pro-abortion state in the nation, yet the majority party in Springfield is still not satisfied. The democrats now, through SB 1909, seek to amend the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The amendment specifically identifies and names pregnancy centers and purports to prohibit pregnancy centers from the 'use or employment of any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation … to interfere with or prevent an individual from seeking to gain entry or access to a provider of abortion.' In reality, the amendment targets crisis pregnancy centers in our state and seeks to unlawfully ban pregnancy centers from exercising their Constitutional right to free speech and prohibit people from telling pregnant women about the negative side effects of an abortion. It breaks my heart to say this, but it appears that the democrats do not want to give expecting mothers an option to terminate their pregnancy and kill their unborn child.“

In a July 27 press release, Attorney General Kwame Raoul applauded Gov. Pritzker for signing the bill. The news release noted that Raoul was the one to initiate Senate Bill 1909, and that he has “offered recommendations to patients seeking reproductive care to ensure they can access comprehensive health services.” He noted that while pregnancy crisis centers may say they offer a full range of reproductive care, the reality is that most aim just to convince the pregnant person to carry to term.