The Illinois Family Institute is issuing this public statement to urge Governor J.B. Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul to prepare to ensure the safety of churches and pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) in Illinois.

David E. Smith, the executive director of the statewide pro-life, pro-family organization, notes that vandalism, arson, threats of violence, and interruption of church services have been escalating since the leak of Justice Samuel Alito‘s draft opinion on abortion.

“We cannot afford to ignore the threats of violence and harassment to achieve political ends,” said Smith. “It is wise to anticipate more violent reactions from fringe pro-abortion activists if and when the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in the Dobbs case.”

The arrest of a California man who was reportedly armed with a gun and knife near Justice Brett Kavanaugh‘s house in Maryland is alarming. Federal law enforcement officials have charged him with attempted murder.

Recently, both CompassCare Pregnancy Services in Buffalo, New York and the headquarters for Wisconsin Family Action were firebombed. In Asheville, North Carolina, a business that provides counseling for pregnant women was vandalized. Earlier this week, in New York City, pro-life advocates participating in a monthly event called “Witness for Life” were mobbed.

Mr. Smith points out that while abortion facilities in Chicago have bubble zones to protect the safety of abortion workers and clients, no such protection exists for pregnancy care centers and churches. During this turbulent time, the state of Illinois must give them equal protection under the law.

“Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul should make it clear that violence and intimidation will not be tolerated in Illinois,” urges Smith. “Moreover, law enforcement agencies across the state must be put on high alert, visibly present in their patrols in an effort to dissuade violence.”

IFI implores Governor Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul to speak out in advance of the ruling to urge peace and calm.

We call every elected official in Illinois, no matter their view on the Dobbs decision, to speak out in opposition to any response that includes violence and intimidation.

Mr. Smith contends that any attack on a church or pregnancy care center should be considered an anti-religious hate crime and the perpetrators should be charged accordingly.

In a unanimous decision handed down yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that a law in Massachusetts creating abortion clinic buffer zones for pro-life demonstrators was unconstitutional.  

The City of Chicago has a similar law that is known as a “bubble zone.”  The Chicago ordinance creates an 8 foot no-approach “bubble zone” around people within 50 feet of abortion clinic’s entrance and exits.  But according to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago law is based on a Colorado law which “was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hill vs. Colorado in 2000.”

So is Chicago’s ordinance next to fall?  Please watch the video report below which includes an interview with pro-life leader Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League:

Stand with Illinois Family Institute! 

Those who will do anything possible to quash dissent regarding the issue of abortion were foiled once again on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. The case against David Avignone, an MBA student at Chicago’s Loyola University, was dropped by the City of Chicago. Avignone was originally charged with disorderly conduct due to his alleged violation of a controversial ordinance referred to as a “Bubble Zone”. The ordinance applies outside local abortion clinics to prohibit approaching within eight feet of a person to present a leaflet, sign or oral message to that person. Avignone was arrested while praying the rosary in front of a near north side Planned Parenthood abortion mill.

“We are pleased that for the second time, the City of Chicago has dismissed the false charges of disorderly conduct against a man who was properly and legally exercising his First Amendment rights on the public way,” said Peter Breen, in a statement issued by the Chicago-based Thomas More Society. Breen is the organization’s Executive Director and legal counsel.

“We hope these two baseless cases involving alleged ‘Bubble Zone’ ‘infractions’ show the Chicago City Council why it should repeal this controversial ordinance altogether and cease efforts to scare pro-life people away from Planned Parenthood,” continued Breen who defended Avignone in the case.

The Thomas More Society won an historic Supreme Court decision where abortion facilities attempted to restrict any kind of sidewalk counseling, demonstrations or expressions of First Amendment free speech near facilities which provide abortion services. In the case of NOW v. Scheidler, the nation’s highest court ruled that the Pro-Life Action, headed by Joe Scheidler, was not in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The Thomas More Society’s victory cleared the way for sidewalk counseling and protests in front of abortion clinics. However, many believe the City of Chicago with its “Bubble Zone” ordinance is attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court decision in the Scheidler case.

The case against Avignone is the third “Bubble Zone” case, all of which have been dismissed. The decision by the City of Chicago not to pursue the case against Avignone and two others who were previously charged with violating the “Bubble Zone” ordinance was a good one in the opinion of most experts in constitutional law.

Pro-Life Action League Plans Protest at City Hall

On Wednesday, October 7th, the Pro-Life Action League will hold a protest in front of Chicago’s City Hall. The demonstration will be held in opposition to an ordinance the City Counsel will be voting on later that day. The ordinance, if passed, would restrict the access of pro-life sidewalk counselors in front of abortion clinics.

Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League will be holding a press conference at the site of the protest (121 N. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago) which will begin at 9 A.M.

On September 9th, at the behest of Planned Parenthood, Alderman Vi Daley (no relation to Chicago MayorRichard Daley) proposed an amendment to the City’s Disorderly Conduct Ordinance [PDF], http://prolifeaction.org/docs/ProposedBubbleZoneOrdinance.pdf creating a 50 foot bubble zone around “health facilities.”

Inside that 50-foot Bubble Zone, no one would be allowed to approach anyone going into an abortion clinic closer than eight feet. This would make sidewalk counseling virtually impossible.

“The obvious aim of this ordinance is to keep pro-lifers far away from abortion clinics and those entering ‘health facilities,'” said Joe Scheidler, Founder of the Pro-Life Action League.

“I can’t emphasize enough how fatal this Bubble Zone would be,” said Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League. “Pro-Life counselors are saving babies every week by talking intimately with abortion-bound mothers outside the abortuaries. The Bubble Zone would effectively KILL this kind of compassionate outreach.”

If passed, the ordinance would levy a fine of $500 for anyone simply trying to talk to a woman about choosing life for her baby. Many legal experts agree if the Chicago City Council passes the ordinance lobbied for by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, and signed into law by Mayor Daley, the bill would not pass judicial muster and would likely be overturned in a court of law.

“IFI is proud to follow the lead of the Pro-Life Action League in challenging this proposed ordinance,” said Dave Smith, IFI’s Executive Director. “The Chicago City Council would do well to uphold their oath to the Illinois and U.S. Constitutions which guarantees the right to freedom of expression and speech. Targeting one specific group of citizens at specific locations is absolutely chilling. The government should never use its power to intimidate or disenfranchise people whose speech they disagree with.”

“The fact abortionists are trying so hard to stop sidewalk counseling is a powerful sign of how effective it is,” added Joe Scheidler. “Please join our efforts to save sidewalk counseling in Chicago.”

The Pro-Life Action League suggests steps that can be taken by those who are in opposition to Chicago City Council’s proposed ordinance.

A Pro-Life Action League Alert explains what citizens can do to express opposition to the proposed amendment to Chicago’s Disorderly Conduct ordinance creating a “bubble zone” at “health facilities”.

Take ACTION: 1. CALL Mayor Daley’s Office TODAY at 312-744-3300. Tell them you oppose this unconstitutional restriction on your freedom of speech.

2. Join the PROTEST at City Hall on Wednesday 10/7 at 9 A.M.

Meet us at 121 N. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago to oppose the “bubble zone.”

3. FORWARD this message to all your Chicago-area friends. We’ve got to flood Mayor Daley’s office with calls against the “Bubble Zone” ordinance. Mobilize your friends and family!

For more information regarding the Pro-Life Action League press conference and protest contact the PLAL at: 773-777-2900 or go to:www.prolifeaction.org