Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Welch (D) has enough promised votes to retain his leadership position when the legislature convenes January 5, 2023. Amy Gehrke of Illinois Right to Life tells AFN he is strongly hinting at amending the state constitution to make abortion a guaranteed right.
"We already have some of the most liberal, out of the mainstream abortion laws in the nation, and this will only make them even more permanent than they already are," she relays. "So this is definitely a critical, critical time for Illinois."
But she says when people learn how extreme the laws already on the books are, they tend to oppose them.
"Abortion clinics are not licensed or inspected by the state in the vast majority of cases," Gehrke notes. "Coroners are not required to investigate women's deaths at abortion clinics, [and] parents don't need to even be notified before their minor daughter has an abortion. We find that people who even identify as pro-choice are completely horrified by this."
Regardless of their position on abortion, Gehrke insists that voters who oppose this measure must, given the chance, show up at the polls and ensure the state's loose and liberal abortion laws do not become enshrined in the state constitution.
