California Governor Gavin Newsom recently rented billboards in several pro-life states and slathered them with pro-abortion messages inviting pregnant women to get their abortions in California. One billboard in particular, however, stood out, because Newsom ended his pro-abortion message with the words of Jesus in Mark 12:31: “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Christians were outraged, and rightly so. It’s wrong to promote baby murder, and it’s doubly wrong to twist the words of Christ to promote it. Pastor John MacArthur wrote a letter (which you can find HERE) to Newsom, in which he not only boldly and clearly told the governor that this misuse of Scripture was blasphemy, he pleaded with the governor to consider the eternality of his soul.

The Bible has a lot to say about leaders, good and evil, and the power of God’s Word. Isaiah 10:1-2 says, “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!”

Note the inference that what makes the decrees iniquitous and writings oppressive is the effects that they have – they turn the needy aside from justice, they rob the poor of their right, and on top of that, they prey on widows and the fatherless.

The abortion lobby does just those things. Their message is aimed at poor, young, husbandless women. Many are fatherless, and for those with fathers, the abortion industry passes laws (like the Parental Notice of Abortion Act), so that parents will never hear of it. Not to mention the boatload of stories where Planned Parenthood has aided and abetted traffickers. Unfortunately, all you have to do is go to a website called Live Action and search ‘traffickers’ to know this.

Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Twisting Scripture to call abortion loving is the very fulfillment of this verse. The Bible tells us that God created men and women in His own image (Genesis 1:27), treats the unborn as human and precious (Psalm 139:13-16, Exodus 1:22-25, Luke 1:40-44, etc.), and takes the murder of an image-bearer very seriously (Genesis 9:6). Life is sacred because we are made in the image of God. That’s why the devil is always seeking to destroy it. So much of what’s going on in our culture right now is the result of the age-old spiritual battle. We are not fighting against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), and this fight for the unborn is really just one more battle in a war that’s lasted since Genesis 3.

A final thought  

Ironically, the mere use of Scripture on the billboard proclaims a reality abortion advocates don’t want to face. The verse they used says ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’. But Newsom and his campaign intentionally left off the whole Scripture quote:  “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” God, the Creator of morality, determines what love is. It’s not something for us to decide based off of what’s culturally cool or our own whims and ideas.

Loving God is why we love our neighbor, and He shows us how in His Word when Christ laid His life down for us. Love involves giving life. Not taking it.

In Isaiah 55:11, the Lord says, “So shall my Word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God’s Word is powerful, even when it’s misused. And we know how this battle ends. Fortunately, God wins.

The euphemistically titled “Youth Health and Safety Act” (HB 370) has passed both the Illinois House and Senate. Leftists who believe it takes a village to strip parents of their natural rights and strip preborn humans of their right to live are close to fulfilling their promise to make Illinois America’s bloodiest killing field.  HB 370 will repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act passed in 1995, which requires parents of pregnant minor girls to be notified at least 48 hours before girls can have their babies killed.

In yet another repugnant floor debate in Springfield, State Representative Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) asserted without proving that there is a “fundamental principle that everyone has the right to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions without interference.”

Translated, she means there exists an unfettered right for pregnant underage girls to have their babies slaughtered without their parents being notified. Let’s remember, girls as young as eight can become pregnant.

As you read through some of the statements made by Moeller, State Rep. Daniel Didech (D-Buffalo Grove), and State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), take note of what they say about the human in the womb that they are so eager to have slaughtered (hint: they say nothing).

Moeller describes the Parental Notice of Abortion Act as the “dangerous Forced Notification Law that has been in place in Illinois since 1995 but has only been enforced since 2013.” She didn’t, however, mention why it has only been enforced since 2013. The reason is that child slaughter advocates threw legal roadblock after roadblock in its way.

Moeller and Cassidy faux-fretted about children in abusive homes. But their faux-fretting required rationalizing why the “judicial bypass of notification,” which was designed to protect such children, is inadequate. This is the rationalization Didech concocted:

Right now, we force those girls to navigate a complex judicial bureaucracy, maybe hire a lawyer and convince a judge that she is telling the truth that forcing her to involve her parents will put her in danger. I think we should handle it differently. I think when a girl tells us that she’s in danger, we should just believe her.

Didech is alluding to the “judicial bypass of notification” for girls who may come from abusive homes. But, rather than forcing girls to “navigate a complex judicial bureaucracy” and “maybe” forcing her to hire a lawyer, the ACLU makes it easy-peasy and free for girls to obtain a judicial bypass/waiver via its Illinois Judicial Bypass Coordination Project.

I can’t help but wonder how many teens Didech has been around when he says, “when a girl tells us that she’s in danger, we should just believe her.” First, that’s why we have a judicial bypass. Second, someone should tell Didech that many teens lie—a lot.

Here’s something else little discussed by human slaughter cheerleaders. The Parental Notice of Abortion Act allows both the judicial bypass and an exception to the bypass:

Notice shall not be required under this Act if the minor declares in writing that she is a victim of sexual abuse, neglect, or physical abuse by an adult family member as defined in this Act. The attending physician must certify in the patient’s medical record that he or she has received the written declaration of abuse or neglect.

Didech also prophesied:

Before the PNA, over 85% of girls involved their parents, right now over 85% of girls are involving their parents, and after we repeal the PNA over 85% of girls will still involve their parents.  

How does Didech know with such certainty that after the repeal of the PNA “over 85% of girls will still involve their parents?”

Here’s the doozy of a statement about the process of obtaining a judicial bypass that Moeller made:

Since then, over 500 young women have been forced to endure a traumatizing judicial bypass process in order to access reproductive healthcare in Illinois. And we know that that that process creates an unfair and dangerous burden on these young women.

What exactly does Moeller mean by “traumatized,” and what is her evidence that over 500 young women were “traumatized” by the process?

What is “unfair” about providing girls from abusive homes the option of obtaining a judicial bypass? Is it “unfair” because girls from non-abusive homes are able to tell their parents? If that’s what Moeller means, then is it “unfair” or unfortunate that some children have dysfunctional families? Maybe Moeller doesn’t know the meaning of “fair.”

The judicial bypass is a just and compassionate means to protect minor girls from potential abuse in the home and from being abused by men outside the home. As State Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich), who opposes the repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act said,

If this passes, you will be allowing those who victimize and abuse children, not just here in Illinois, but from all over the US to walk their victims into a clinic, force them to have an abortion, hide the evidence of their crime and continue the cycle of violence. Do not further empower those pimps, those traffickers, those who rape sexually abused and exploit these children for their own personal and selfish gains.

Moeller made this patently false claim:

We support the most vulnerable in our state.

Is a 16-year-old girl for whom the ACLU will provide free judicial bypass services more vulnerable than the human in the womb whom the teen wants killed? Or is Moeller implying that the product of conception between two humans is not a human?

Cheerleader Cassidy reminded everyone of the unseemly late-night debate on Memorial Day weekend two years ago, when she was instrumental in passing Illinois’ Baby Snuff Bill that legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for any or no reason:

I stood here in May of 2019 and had a lengthy debate, not unlike this, in which we described building a firewall around Illinois to protect reproductive healthcare and to protect access to this care. But that firewall has a gaping hole in it and it’s a gaping hole that puts our most vulnerable people, the folks that we are most charged with protecting, it puts them in danger. We have to plug that hole today by repealing PNA.

Cassidy’s word choices are curious. A firewall is a means to stop the spread of something bad. In Cassidy’s warped world, wholly unrestricted access to abortion for all minor girls is the good that her firewall protects. Anything that may influence or prevent a minor girl from killing her own child is the bad thing against which Cassidy wants to construct an impenetrable firewall. Nothing that may lead a child to choose life for her baby must be permitted in Cassidy’s dystopia.

A loophole is a means to avoid an obligation. Cassidy views parental notification as a “loophole”—a way for parents to evade their obligation to allow their daughter absolute autonomy to decide whether her child lives or dies.

For a moment, Cassidy inadvertently argued the conservative position:

Heard lots of folks over there talking about all of the things that you can’t do without contacting a parent, piercings and whatnot that, frankly, trivialize what we’re talking about here.

Cassidy didn’t seem to notice that when she claimed that comparing ear-piercing to abortion “trivializes” abortion, she was making the conservative argument. If an abortion—i.e., the intentional killing of a living human—is far more significant than getting ears pierced, and minors need a parent’s permission for an ear-piercing, then shouldn’t they be required to notify their parents before hiring a “doctor” to kill their offspring?

Kelly continues with her irrational argument–one made by Moeller as well:

[N]obody over there [on the right side of the aisle] wants to talk about the things you can do without contacting a parent. You can get pregnant, you can stay pregnant, you can give birth, you can have a C-section, you can give a child up for adoption, all without ever having anybody call your parent. Yep, minors are able to do all those things without parental notification, so let’s spend a moment thinking about those other things.

Yes, let’s do.

Getting pregnant: True, teens are able to “get pregnant” without parental notification, but if they’re 16 or younger, having sex is illegal in Illinois. Why is it illegal? Because adults have determined that minors are not mature enough to give consent for sex. If they’re not mature enough to give consent for sex, are they mature enough to decide whether they have the right to have another more vulnerable human—their own child—killed?

Staying pregnant: Absolutely. A minor girl can choose to “stay pregnant.” In other words, no one can legally force a human to have another human killed. That’s wildly different from allowing a minor daughter to undergo a surgical procedure that kills her child without her parents’ knowledge and counsel.

Giving birth or having a C-Section: These references are so idiotic they don’t deserve a response, but here goes. First, while continuing a pregnancy is volitional, giving birth is a non-volitional process. There are no points of correspondence between choosing to end the life of another human (aka abortion) and giving birth. Same goes with regard to C-sections. Obstetricians decide whether a C-section is necessary mode of delivery.

Finally, adoptions: A minor girl can and should be able to make the decision as to whether she will keep and raise her baby or relinquish her baby to the care of others, because this decision does not involve killing her child.  The state does not have the right to decide whether a mother must raise her child. The state does, however, have the right to decide when killing other humans is justified. And it most certainly does have the right to decide which medical interventions children may access without parental consent.

Ironic fact: In Illinois drug use during pregnancy is considered child abuse under the law. So, Illinois lawmakers believe drug use during pregnancy constitutes abuse of a child, but killing that child is a moral good.

Cassidy accuses those who believe good parents of  minor girls should be notified before their daughters undergo an abortion of being liars:

[T]o say that this is not about abortion, that this is some high-minded protection idea for y’all, is a flat out lie. It is a complete lie. It is a fiction.

Well, I’ll borrow Cassidy’s rhetoric. To say that the repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act is about “healthcare,” that this is some high-minded protection of children’s “health” and “safety” is a flat out lie. It is a complete lie. It is a fiction. This repeal is about the legal “right” of some humans to order the killings of weaker, less developed, more vulnerable, or differently abled others.

Watch this video of a woman who was raped at 11, trafficked at 15, and forced to have abortions by her traffickers. See what she has to say about the Parental Notice of Abortion Act:

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Fatuous-Floor-Debate-on-Parental-Notice-of-Abortion-Act.mp3

I know we shouldn’t be surprised. We know intuitively and intellectually that the nature of Big Government is tyranny. Yet I was stunned to watch Illinois Democratic State Lawmakers intentionally and aggressively pursue an agenda to diminish the civil rights of its people. Not only did they attack health care conscience rights protections, but they also repealed Illinois’ last major abortion regulation which ensured the rights of parents/guardians to be notified when their minor daughter seeks to have an abortion.

Thankfully, not one Republican state lawmaker voted for these tyrannical proposals.

The second half of the 2021 Veto Session started on Tuesday where 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.

The bill was sent to the Illinois House Executive Committee on Wednesday, where it was debated and sent to the Illinois House floor. The bill was taken up for debate Wednesday evening where it was debated and then passed by a vote a 64-52 with 2 voting present. You can watch and/or listen to the debate here below:

Myles Holmes, IFI Board member and pastor of Revive Church in Collinsville emphatically points out that

“government is not God and has no right to usurp the place of parents in the instruction and direction of their children’s lives. The passage of this onerous bill demonstrates the Marxist control that Democrats want over our families. The first response of Christian families must be to remove their children from government control in the public schools, and the second  is to work hard to remove these politicians in the next election.”

Governor JB Pritzker is expected to sign it into law. According to an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, Pritzker “vowed” to sign the bill saying, “At a time when reproductive rights are under attack across the country, Illinois is protecting those critical reproductive rights.” The article does not explain that reproductive “rights” is literally license to kill pre-born human beings.

Conscience Rights

Immediately preceding their vote to usurp parental rights, the Illinois House of Representative decided to quash conscience rights when they took up and debated SB 1169. This bill diminishes the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act — specifically for COVID-19 remediation. In other words, the sponsors of this amendment intends to curtail the safeguard that existed in state law that allowed citizens to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The bill passed the Illinois House by a vote a 64-52 with 2 voting present. UPDATE: Late Thursday night (10/28/2021), the Illinois Senate concurred with the Illinois House and passed this bill by a vote of 31-24.

The chief sponsor of this legislator, State Representatives Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), repeatedly argued that the original intent of the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act was about abortion, birth control and sterilization and was crafted to protect healthcare professionals. In other words, it was not intended to protect people who want to avoid experimental and/or dubious medical treatments and/or the unmerciful despotism of vaccine mandates.

But the fact is, many who oppose being forced to take the COVID vaccine against their will firmly believe, as do we, that the Health Care Right of Conscience Act protects all citizens. You can read it for yourself.

(745 ILCS 70/5) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 5305)
Sec. 5. Discrimination. It shall be unlawful for any person, public or private institution, or public official to discriminate against any person in any manner, including but not limited to, licensing, hiring, promotion, transfer, staff appointment, hospital, managed care entity, or any other privileges, because of such person’s conscientious refusal to receive, obtain, accept, perform, assist, counsel, suggest, recommend, refer or participate in any way in any particular form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.
(Source: P.A. 90-246, eff. 1-1-98.)

You can watch and/or listen to the debate here below:

Calvin Lindstrom, IFA board member and pastor of Church of Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights, is disgusted with Illinois politics, saying:

I hate to say this, but Illinois is a failed state in terms of political government. We have been dealing with a governor who for over 18 months passes executive orders with very little challenge from other elected officials. On these important matters the legislative branch is useless. And then unfortunately when the legislative branch does decide to pass legislation it follows an agenda rather than listening to the citizens of this state. There was no grass roots movement among citizens of Illinois to remove parental notification when a minor seeks to obtain an abortion. And in the face of massive opposition to changing the law over rights of conscience with respect to health care, our lawmakers again follow an agenda with no real concern for the voices of citizens.

I can speak personally to this when I met my own state representative, Mark Walker, in the state capitol building on Tuesday. I tried to engage him in conversation on Parental Notification for Abortion. I asked him his position and he said something like, “It’s an obvious choice.” I asked, what does that mean. He responded by saying, he was voting for repeal for the safety of women. He then walked off in a very rude manner. Perhaps he had somewhere to go, but his dismissive manner was not appreciated.

This is not a time for weakness or capitulation even though we are sorrowful, frustrated, and righteously angry. The psalm our church is using for this week, Psalm 68, is a good prayer for God’s people to follow. “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.” (Psalm 68:1).

Both of these bills will soon be sent to the Governor’s office for his consideration. While he has publicly declared his support for these feckless bills, you may want to call his office to let him know that many Illinois residents oppose the eradication of the parental notice statute and the amendment to our conscience rights protection law. His phone number in Springfield is (217) 782-6830. His phone number in Chicago is (312) 814-2121.

During the spring General Assembly’s legislative session, Democrat state lawmakers introduced the Repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (HB 1797 and SB 2190). Parents for the Protection of Girls hosted a press conference in opposition to the bill which featured powerful testimony from Laura Lederer, an attorney who’s studied human trafficking for more than 20 years, and Dr. Brook Bello, a pastoral clinical counselor and human trafficking survivor.

The bill would repeal current state law requiring young women under the age of 18 seeking an abortion to notify a parent, legal guardian, or grandparent at least 48 hours prior to the procedure taking place. It was introduced into the Illinois State Senate by Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), and into the Illinois House by Anna Moeller (D-Elgin) with elected House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch serving as one of the bill’s main co-sponsors.

In Illinois, the The Catholic News Agency reported about 1,000 minors undergo an abortion annually. 

Study makes connections

Laura J. Lederer is the co-author of “The Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking and Their Implications for Identifying Victims in Healthcare Facilities.” The study proves a direct connection between human trafficking, health care providers, and abortion. During the press conference, she laid out key findings from the study that show “because of physical and emotionally abusive situations trafficking victims often seek healthcare providers for abortions, treatments of injuries, or birth control, among other health issues. These encounters with healthcare providers offer a life-saving opportunity for trafficking victims since they are alone with a trained authority who can contact family members or law enforcement on their behalf.”

She shared that 88 percent of the survivors had contact with some kind of healthcare provider while they were being trafficked. Sixty-three percent reported being taken to a hospital emergency room and 57 percent went to a neighborhood or women’s clinic.

According to the study, 71 percent of survivors became pregnant at least once while being trafficked. Twenty-one percent said they became pregnant five times or more, and 55 percent reported having at least one abortion. Thirty percent of trafficking survivors who become pregnant reported undergoing multiple abortions.

Of the women who had abortions, 68 percent were performed at a clinic, 16 percent at hospital, and 14 percent were performed by “other.” Over half of the survivors who had abortions reported they were forced to do so by their trafficker. According to Lederer, some were “beaten around their stomachs or womb” when their traffickers knew they were pregnant.

The bill has the support of the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and Planned Parenthood who claim the judicial bypass process is too tedious and harmful to minorities who may view the process as oppressive. Opponents of the bill have expressed concern that a repeal would offer protection to child molesters, rapists, and human traffickers in Illinois and surrounding states.

Lederer noted that abortion is a polarizing issue, but parental notice should be one both sides of the issue could stand behind. She shared, “Abortion and sex trafficking transcends the usual political boundaries of the abortion debate since it violates both the pro-life belief that abortion takes an innocent life and also the pro-choice ideal of a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive choices.”

Summing up her report, Lederer expressed sentiments that would seem to outweigh concerns opponents of the Parental Notice Act have expressed, “Illinois’ current law on parental notification of abortion offers a key opportunity to recognize a trafficking victim and to free her from a lifetime of slavery.”

Survivor speaks

Dr. Brook Bello, who was raped at the age of 11, trafficked at 15, and forced to undergo multiple abortions by her trafficker, confirmed Lederer’s statements about parental notification. During the press conference, she shared, “Had my parents been notified, my mother would have been notified what city I was near.” She further implied law enforcement could have been notified and she may have been rescued sooner.

After Bello was rescued, she was plagued by women’s health problems, including fertility issues. She shared how her doctor lamented that she had been slow to speak with him about her past due to the trauma of being trafficked. He told her had he known earlier, “we could have effectively dealt with all of the scar tissue, with all of the issues, and you could have been able to have had children.”

Bello is the founder of More Too Life, an anti-trafficking organization dedicated to mentoring survivors and providing training to recognize and combat human trafficking. Additionally, she’s an author, actress, pastoral counselor, wife, and the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award from former President Barrack Obama. Having accomplished so much, she shared, “All I ever wanted was to be loved, to be married, to have three children. They’re [her children] in heaven.”

After recounting her traumatic past, she asked, “Why wouldn’t someone, unless it’s an emancipated youth, give that opportunity for that person’s parents to be notified?”

Speaking passionately Bello said, “I ask the public; I ask the Illinois legislators: ‘Why would you want a child to keep something secret that is going to affect her for the rest of her life?’”

She implored, “I beg of you, Illinois. I plead, Illinois, to not reverse, to please notify parents… Give them a safe place to fall and notify parents.”

The current Parental Notice law was passed in 1995 but wasn’t implemented until 2013 after a lengthy series of court battles. In addition to Illinois, 37 other states have some form of a parental notification law.

According to a survey of 600 Illinois registered voters taken March 7-10 by The Tarrance Group, 72 percent of Illinoisans agree or strongly agree that if a minor were seeking an abortion “the law should require her parent or guardian to be notified before the procedure.” Current law does not require minors to obtain an adult’s permission to undergo an abortion procedure, only notification.

When those surveyed were asked, “If a minor is seeking an abortion, do you believe a parent or guardian should be notified?” Just 22 percent replied “no” or “strongly no.”

Take Action: Click HERE to contact your state lawmakers. Let them know that gutting or repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act will subvert families and create an environment to protect their minor daughters’ abusers. Ask them to oppose any and all efforts to repeal or amend the law and, instead, uphold parental rights.

Ask your pastor to share this bulletin insert with your congregation.  The body of Christ and people of faith must be notified of this effort and encouraged to speak out now.

Bulletin Insert

Read more:

Man Raped 12-Year-Old 500 Times Resulting in 7 Abortions, Abortion Clinics Never Reported the Crime

Please support the work and ministry of IFI.  

Your tax-deductible donation is greatly appreciated!

Democrat state lawmakers introduced the Repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (HB 1797 and SB 2190) in the Illinois General Assembly’s spring legislative session. The bill would repeal the current law and allow minor females to obtain abortions without a parent’s or guardian’s knowledge. The group, Parents for the Protection of Girls, recently held a press conference announcing their strong opposition to the repeal.

SB 2190 was introduced by Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) and HB 1797 by Rep. Anna Moeller (D-Elgin). Newly elected House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch is one of the bill’s chief co-sponsors. A similar bill was introduced in 2019 and failed.

The Parental Notice of Abortion Law was passed in 1995 but wasn’t implemented until 2013 after lengthy court battles. Thirty-seven other states have some form of a parental notification law.

The law they want to repeal requires young women under the age of 18 seeking an abortion to notify a parent, legal guardian, or grandparent at least 48 hours prior to the abortion. It does not require consent. If for some reason the minor is unable to contact an adult family member, a judicial bypass may be sought. According to a report from The Catholic News Agency, about 1,000 minors in Illinois undergo an abortion each year.

Mary FioRito, of Parents for the Protection of Girls, presented the results of a recent public opinion poll at the start of the press conference. FioRito is an attorney and a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the deNicola Center for Ethics and Culture. She is also the mother of three teenage girls.

The poll was conducted March 7th-10th of 2021 with 600 registered voters in Illinois by The Tarrance Group. FioRio said the poll found “nearly three-quarters [of Illinoisans] are opposed to repealing the Parental Notice Law.” According to those polled, 72% of overall respondents support the current parental notification requirement. When those surveyed were asked, “’If a minor is seeking an abortion, do you believe a parent or guardian should be notified?,’  she noted only 22% said ‘no’ or ‘strongly no’ to that question.”

In addition, FioRito said the poll found “52% of liberal democrats and pro-choice voters support the parental notification law” with “one-third of the electorate that self-identified as pro-choice” supporting the current law.

A Father and Pastor Speaks Out

Jon Jones, the father of a teenage girl and a worship pastor at Christian Life Center, a multi-cultural, non-denominational church, with campuses in the Chicago suburbs of Tinley Park and Blue Island, spoke for families and the effect a repeal could have on them. Jones stated, “I love my daughter and care very deeply about what goes on in her life. If she were to get pregnant and were to consider an abortion, I would want to know so my wife and I could help her deal with the unexpected situation.”

Jones, an African American, noted the Tarrance opinion poll showed, “Seventy-six percent of minority men and 74% of minority of women support this [current] law. So, it’s clear this law has the support of many across our state and it should not be repealed.”

Jones called parental notification a matter of “common sense” and “supportive of the family, which is the bedrock of society.”

He appealed to legislators to see the seemingly contradictory message a repeal would send. “When our state laws ensure children can’t make their own decisions for accessing tanning beds, tattoos, tobacco use,” Jones said, “it seems unfathomable that the law would allow minors to access abortion without any adult guidance. We know the potential severe physical and emotional consequences associated with abortion.”

The groups pushing for the repeal of Parental Notice are the usual suspects: the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and Planned Parenthood. They claim minor girls may be prevented from having an abortion if their parents find out. They also claim that minorities may fear the judicial bypass process due to racial prejudice if parents are not available. While opponents of the bill have expressed grave concerns that a repeal would protect child molesters, rapists, and human traffickers in Illinois and surrounding states, both bills have actually picked up several additional co-sponsors.

Not all minors come from homes with loving parents as some critics of the present law point out. However, Jones said, “I understand not every child comes from a home like ours and the needs of that child must be met as they are in this law with the provided exemptions to notifications. It is also important to weigh the needs of loving families and ensure the government not do more to denigrate them.”

In a March 16th letter opposing the repeal, Catholic Bishops of Illinois alluded to the same arguments from supporters of the appeal as Jones, saying, “It is unfortunately true that not all young people come from loving homes.” They also noted the judicial bypass process can be “emotionally difficult.”

“However, such difficulty must be weighed against the harm done when our laws effectively undermine family life by separating children from the care of parents who love them the most,” said their letter. “The state should do everything to support families, not destabilize them.”

The bishops also expressed the concerns of those who oppose the repeal. “If a minor girl can be taken by any adult man to an abortion clinic in the hopes of erasing the evidence of his abuse, what protection exists outside of the girl’s parent or guardian being informed? Why would we want to create such a dangerous environment?”

HB 1797 has passed through the Illinois House of Representatives’ Human Services Committee and is awaiting debate and a vote in the House.

Take Action: Click HERE to contact your state lawmakers. Let them know that gutting or repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act will subvert families and create an environment to protect their minor daughters’ abusers. Ask them to oppose any and all efforts to repeal or amend the law and, instead, uphold parental rights.

Ask your pastor to share this bulletin insert with your congregation.  The body of Christ and people of faith must be notified of this effort and encouraged to speak out now.

Bulletin Insert

Please support the work and ministry of IFI.  

Your tax-deductible donation is greatly appreciated!

The 2020 session of the Illinois General Assembly is now underway in Springfield. Our state lawmakers are introducing new proposals, adding to the 6,000+ bills that were introduced in the first half of the session (2019). IFI’s top concern is stopping the effort to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. In a recent email, the anti-life Personal PAC told their supporters that their

key goals in 2020 will be repealing dangerous anti-choice legislation and safeguarding reproductive rights for future generations. With that in mind, in the next few months, Personal PAC will be focused on:

• Repealing the Parental Notice Act of Abortion (PNA) and
• Expanding the Illinois General Assembly’s pro-choice majority

Opposing this horrific agenda must be a prayer priority for all pro-life Christians in the state. It must also become a tier one call-to-action for us all. Our local state representatives, state senators and Governor J.B. Pritzker must hear from us loud and clear. They must come to understand that we will not remain silent as they work to usurp our God-given parental rights so they can pursue an agenda of death.

In addition to that, ethics reform is once again making headlines in the wake of multiple FBI corruption investigations and numerous indictments. Chicago’s ABC7 I-Team recently aired a report identifying Illinois “as the most corrupt state in America.” Political pundits speculate that there will be more indictments coming in the weeks and months ahead. As if that weren’t enough, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is at the center of a rape cover-up scandal that may have far reaching consequences.

We also have critically important primary campaigns going on now through election day, March 17th.

To say we have much to pray about is an understatement. Our state government is immersed in chaos and corruption. This is a reflection of the character of the men and women serving in Springfield over the past several decades. We are to pray for  all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness, (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Please Pray:

• That God will open the eyes of policy-makers and candidates for office to the sanctity of life. Pray that they will become defenders of innocent human life and not enablers of sexual immorality and death.

• That state lawmakers will uphold parental rights and reject attempts to repeal the basic protection young women have in the Parental Notice of Abortion Act.

• That federal and state investigators will root out all corruption at the Capitol and among our legislators and that self-serving lawmakers will be replaced by honest and wise public servants.

• That in the 2020 election season, pro-life candidates will have the time, energy and funding needed to saturate their districts with their campaign messages and materials.

• That God will give wisdom and discernment to the honest public servants in Springfield who must work in the swamp of corruption and that they have courage to serve the Lord with fear and trembling and not shrink back from calling out every form of wickedness. (Psalms 2:10-11)

• That many godly counselors and advisers will surround our elected officials and that local pastors and Christian leaders will intentionally seek opportunities to visit and minister to these men and women. (Proverbs 11:14)

• That God will work in the hearts and minds of our state lawmakers and governor and that He will draw them to Him and His truth. (Proverbs 21:1-8)

• That God will work in the hearts of key federal officials, including President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

• That efforts to indoctrinate children in government schools–especially the new law that mandates teaching about homosexuality and the “trans” ideology positively in government schools–will fail and that local school boards will reject this agenda for their students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

• That God will use the upcoming IFI Worldview Conference and April 25th Education Forum to help equip and challenge parents, grandparents and pastors.

Personal Prayer Request:

Last week, my wife and I were blessed with the birth of our son, Owen. He was born with Down Syndrome and has significant medical challenges. We learned that Owen had an imperforate anus and an AV canal defect in his heart. Owen had surgery on his second day of life and spent the next six days in the PICU. He is facing three additional surgeries in the next several months.

Owen has also been diagnosed with transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM). We were told that twenty percent of Downs Syndrome kids develop Leukemia but 80 percent outgrow it. Further blood tests will indicate more.

We would greatly appreciate if you would keep baby Owen in your prayers over the next several months. We praise God for the technology and science and the amazing medical team that has worked to save Owen’s life and help him overcome these health hurdles.

God is stretching the Smith family in new and exciting ways. We are walking in faith, trusting in God’s plan for Owen while trying not to rely not on our own (finite) understanding. I can honestly say that we cannot wait to see how God is going to use this boy in our family and beyond.

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