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UPDATED: Illinois General Assembly Approves Parental Notice Repeal

On Tuesday afternoon, the Illinois Senate Executive Committee heard testimony on HB 370, the legislation to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. A few hours later, it was sent to the Illinois Senate floor, debated and then passed by a vote of 32-22, with 5 senators not voting.

We are very grateful for the large groups of Christian leaders who lobbied against HB 370 yesterday in Springfield. Other groups of pro-life activists are expected to descend on the Capitol today and Thursday to make sure our state lawmakers know that this bill has significant opposition.

The bill will now be sent over to the Illinois House for consideration. Our voices and our prayers must now be focused on the members of the Illinois House.

UPATE: Testimony for HB 370 was heard and passed by the Illinois House Executive Committee on Wednesday afternoon, and can be called for a vote by the Illinois House at anytime during the remaining hours of the Veto Session.

UPDATE x2: Last Wednesday night, Illinois House Democrats voted to strike down the Parental Notification Act by a vote of 62-31 with 3 voting present.

Take ACTION: Please click HERE to contact Governor JB Pritzker to let him know that most Illinois parents and grandparents oppose repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. It is vital that our governor hear from conservatives on this life-and-death policy. We hope and pray that pro-life citizens will respond overwhelmingly to counter the pressure from anti-life advocates and prevent them from getting the 60 votes they need in the Illinois House and the 30 votes they need in the Illinois Senate. 

We must not remain silent in the face of this attack on young pregnant mothers and their pre-born babies. State lawmakers should be made to feel very uncomfortable to vote in favor of repealing a bill that is intended to protect a minor girl from sexual predators and from a life or death decision for her unborn child.

The Capitol switchboard number is (217) 782-2000. Call during normal business hours and asked to be transferred to your state representative’s office. Urge them to please support parental rights and uphold the Parental Notice of Abortion law.

Please, for the sake of our daughters and for the next generation, contact your lawmakers today. And please pass this message along to friends to encourage them to respond as well.

Read more:

A strong letter from all six Catholic Bishops in Illinois urging action

Trafficking Expert and Survivor Speaks Out Against Repeal of Parental Notice of Abortion Act

Illinoisans Overwhelmingly Support Parental Notice for Minors Prior to Abortion

[VIDEO] Laura J. Lederer: Sex Trafficking, Healthcare and Abortion

[VIDEO] Pastor Jones Supports the “Common Sense” Parental Notification of Abortion Law


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Don’t Jump Out of The Boat

We recently read a great little sermon illustration in which a young boy asked his father, “Dad, I was watching a TV show about marine biologists. Why do scuba-divers jump backwards into the water?” His father wittily responded, “Because if they jumped forward, they’d still be in the boat!”

Scuba divers jump out of boats to investigate marine life in the coastal waters and oceans of the world. It is a way of visiting another ecosystem on our vast planet. Whether it is sunken wreckage, lost treasure or coral reefs, I can see how these diving excursions are great ways to escape the stresses of daily life.

Yet today, there are many people in our culture, in our families and even in our churches who might be tempted to jump out of the boat when things get stressful, depressing or uncomfortable. Those of us who still live in Illinois understand the added frustration of wicked and foolish political leadership. The temptation to move out of this state and into “calmer, peaceful waters” is very real.

Yet we should consider what Scripture has to say about escaping trials and tribulation. Right before He was arrested, Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed John 17:14:

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”  

Jesus could have easily prayed that God would deliver us out of the troubled waters of our world, but He didn’t. He prayed that we would remain in the world and that we would be protected from the evil one. Why didn’t He pray for our complete rescue? His prayer continues in John 17:18:

“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

Our Lord and Savior, the Son of God, prayed that we would remain so we could be on mission in this world for the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

Yes, our state and our culture is in trouble. But these troubles are a reminder that we are called to be salt and light to a dying world.  David Jeremiah once said, “Today is the day to be a light shining in a dark world, fueled by the joy of the Lord.” May we be that salt and light to a dark and decaying world, all to the glory of God.


PRAYER ALERT

We cannot stress the urgency of your fervent prayers this week as our state lawmakers return to the Capitol for the second half of the Veto Session. There are a number of bad proposals pending in Springfield. Prayer and action are vitally important.

Appeal to God for His Help

  • Pray that our state lawmakers would understand the wisdom in keeping qualified (or limited), immunity for police officers in Illinois. Pray that the anti-police agenda to dismantle, dishearten and make defenseless would fall short.

Abortion

  • Pray for the members of the U.S. Supreme Court as they will be hearing arguments regarding significant abortion regulations in Mississippi and Texas. Pray that God would touch the hearts of the nine Justices on the Court. Pray too, as the debate rages, that eyes and ears would be opened to the abortion industry’s murderous barbaric practices.
  • Please pray for the last week of this year’s 40 Days for Life campaign, which ends on Saturday, Oct. 30. Pray that many prayer warriors would take advantage of this opportunity to be a silent witness against the murderous practice of “choice.” Pray that workers at these abortuaries would have a change of heart about their work and leave.
  • Pray that every leader in our nation would come to realize that these are real human babies in the womb who deserve protection.
  • Pray that the agenda of Satan and his wicked disciples to kill pre-born babies in the womb and encourage immoral sexual activities to innocent young children in government schools would be exposed and stopped.

Public School Exit

  • Please continue to pray for our Rescuing Our Children initiative to encourage an exodus from government indoctrination centers. Rev. Ceasar LeFlore, our field director for this project, is meeting with pastors throughout the City of Chicago and suburbs and has been getting favorable responses.
  • Pray for Illinois Family Institute and our annual banquet which is scheduled for Friday evening. Pray that the event would be a success, and that our keynote speaker, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, would encourage and challenge us to live up to the high calling of our faith in Christ Jesus.

For Those in Authority

For the next several weeks, please pray for the political leaders listed below. Pray that they would seek God’s wisdom when they make decisions that affect the people they work for. Pray that God would turn their hearts to Himself. (Proverbs 21:1)

Of course, this includes praying for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, JB Pritzker and Julia Stratton and those who serve in these administrations. Pray also for our two U.S. Senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.

Please pray for the nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court: John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

In addition, please pray for the following officials:

    • U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal Bennet (D-Connecticut)
    • U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri)
    • U.S. Representative Bobby Rush (D-Illinois)
    • U.S. Representative Peter Aguilar (D-California)
    • U.S. Representative Rick Allen (R-Georgia)
    • State Senator Scott Bennett (D-Champaign)
    • State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro)
    • State Representative Lakesia Collins (D-Chicago)
    • State Representative Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur)
    • YOUR local City/Village/Township Officials

The works of His hands are faithful and just;
All His precepts are trustworthy.
They are established forever and ever,
To be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
Holy and awesome is His name!
~Psalm 111:7-9




ADF: Parents Matter in Abortion Decisions

Illinois Supreme Court accepts brief filed by ADF, allied attorneys in defense of parental notification law

Parents matter when their minor children seek abortions, according to the arguments of the Alliance Defense Fund and ADF-allied attorneys with the Chicago firm of Mauck & Baker in a brief filed with the Illinois Supreme Court.

Tuesday the high court accepted the friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Catholic Medical Association in defense of an Illinois law that requires parents to be notified if their minor child seeks an abortion.

Illinois Family Institute is proudly co-sponsoring Mauck & Baker’s efforts.

“Parents matter in abortion decisions,” said ADF Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden. “If abortionists truly cared about young girls, they wouldn’t be pushing to make sure parents stay in the dark while a clinic takes advantage of their daughters’ bodies and desperate situation–not to mention the life of the child in the womb.”

The brief argues that “parental involvement laws protect young women and their physicians, ensuring that full informed consent is given and a proper medical standard of care is met.”

Mauck & Baker, LLC, is lead counsel for the medical groups filing the brief. Richard Baker, Amy Parish, and Noel Sterett are three of nearly 2,100 attorneys in the ADF alliance.

American Civil Liberties Union attorneys representing an abortion clinic and an abortionist filed the lawsuit The Hope Clinic for Women v. Adams in an attempt to tear down the Illinois Parental Notice Act. A federal district court found the law constitutional in October 2010 and dismissed the ACLU’s case, which is now on appeal.

“A young child’s well being is worth much more than an abortionist’s bottom line,” Sterett said. “This law balances the needs of desperate young girls with the rights of the parents who care most about them. The Illinois Supreme Court should allow this protective law to go into effect and reject the arguments of those who want to shut parents out of their children’s critical health decisions.”

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.