07-04-2025
Federal court overturns Illinois law requiring pro-life centers to promote abortion
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A federal court has struck down an Illinois law that required pro-life pregnancy centers to promote the 'benefits' of abortion to patients.
U.S. District Court Judge Iain Johnson handed down his decision in the Schroeder, et al. v Treto, Jr. case, saying, 'Constitutionally, to obtain the liability shield, the State can't require medical professionals to discuss with patients what the State believes are the benefits of abortions,' requiring pro-life physicians to 'to effectively endorse a course of conduct they find morally abhorrent.'
In 2016, Illinois passed Senate Bill 1564, which amended the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which granted a legal shield for conscientous objectors of abortion, so long as they discussed 'benefits' of the procedure and referred clients to abortion providers, upon request.
The suit was filed on behalf of Dr. Ronald Schroeder, 1st Way Pregnancy Support Services, and Pregnancy Aid South Suburbs. In 2017, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the amendment, which held for nearly a decade until the court's final judgment.
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