State Representatives Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), Bob Morgan (D-Highwood) and State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) are sponsoring legislation (SB 1169) to diminish the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, specifically for COVID-19 remediation. In other words, these state lawmakers are heading up the effort to strike down existing legislation that protects citizens’ rights to excuse themselves from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The proposal is narrowly designed for this current pandemic in order to get enough votes to pass in the veto session, but it sets a dangerous precedent for future public health “emergencies” by cherry picking out the current pathogen of the moment. The new proposal simply states:

Sec. 13.5. Violations related to COVID-19 requirements. It is not a violation of this Act for any person or public

official, or for any public or private association, agency, corporation, entity, institution, or employer, to take any

measures or impose any requirements, including, but not limited to, any measures or requirements that involve

provision of services by a physician or health care personnel, intended to prevent contraction or transmission of

COVID-19 or any pathogens that result in COVID-19 or any of its subsequent iterations. It is not a violation of

this Act to enforce such measures or requirements, including by terminating employment or excluding individuals

from a school, a place of employment, or public or private premises in response to noncompliance.

This Section is a declaration of existing law and shall not be construed as a new enactment. Accordingly,

this Section shall apply to all actions commenced or pending on or after the effective date of this amendatory

Act of the 102nd General Assembly. Nothing in this Section is intended to affect any right or remedy under federal law.

This is a top priority for Governor JB Pritzker and other Illinois Democrats. They are frustrated with the fact that their tyrannical vaccine mandate has a strong legal defense in the Health Care Right of Conscience Act. In order to fire people from their jobs (private or public) for failing to comply with this “medical” dictate, this conscience protection must be eliminated.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to fill out a witness slip in OPPOSITION to SB 1169, House Floor Amendment 2.

Witness Slip Instructions:

Section I. Enter your name, address, city and zip code. You can leave Firm/Business and Title blank. If it won’t allow you to leave them black, enter self.

Section II. Leave it blank if you are not representing a group, or enter self.

Section III. Check that you are an Opponent to this feckless proposal.

Section IV. Unless you are filing a written statement, select Record of Appearance Only.

Lastly, check that you agree to the terms of agreement.

Click Create (Slip).

If passed, SB 1169 would take effect immediately. It needs 71 votes to pass in the Illinois House and 36 votes in the Illinois Senate, however. Even with super majorities of Democrats in both chambers, securing those votes will not be an easy accomplishment. Please pray that our state lawmakers understand what is at stake here!

Thank you for taking action!

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Illinois State Senators Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) are sponsoring a bill, SB 109, that will change the “Practitioner’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” (POLST) form by removing the requirement that a witness sign the form. Since the POLST form states the patient’s wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment, having a witness sign this form reduces the chances that a patient is manipulated into literally signing their life away. 

Important Details:

• POLST stands for “Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” but has less to do with “life-sustaining” and more to do with life-ending. Remember that words and changing definitions are often used deceptively to fool people.

• Currently, the POLST form has to be “witnessed by one individual 18 years of age or older, who attests that the individual, other person, guardian, agent or surrogate (1) has had an opportunity to read the form; and (2) has signed the form or acknowledged his or her signature or mark on the form in the witness’s presence.” SB 109 removes that.

• SB 109 also indicates, “If the patient’s wishes are unknown and remain unknown after reasonable efforts to discern them, the decision shall be made on the basis of the patient’s best interests as determined by the surrogate decision maker.”

• POLST was created in 1991 at the Center for Ethics in Health Care at Oregon Health & Science University. Oregon permits physician-assisted suicide.  Key backers of POLST forms include foundations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that have funded “right to die” organizations. That alone should indicate the real intentions behind POLST.

Reasons for Requirement of Witness:

• Patient could be manipulated into literally signing their life away.

• Eliminating the important witness requirement leaves vulnerable patients’ health decisions in the hands of the medical person in charge.

This proposal has passed the Illinois Senate by a vote of 43 – 15 on April 21st, and is now being considered by the Illinois House. Two Republicans joined Democrats in voting for this proposal: State Representatives John Curran (R-Lemont) and Donald DeWitte (R-West Dundee).

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state representative to ask him/her to vote against SB 109. Be polite, but request that they “Help Protect Patients Needing Life-Sustaining Treatment and vote no on SB 109.”

More ACTION: We have a short window to submit witness slips. It takes less than five minutes. State lawmakers use these witness slips as a measure of public opinion. Help stop this bill by taking these steps (must be over 13):

• Open the link for SB 109 (here)
• Fill in your information.  Put “Self” in three fields:
  • Firm/Business
  • Title
  • Persons, groups firms represented in this appearance
• Under Position, click OPPONENT
• Under Testimony, click “Record Of Appearance Only”
• Click “I Agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement”
• Click button Create(Slip)

SB 109 is sponsored in the Illinois House by State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) and Carol Ammons (D-Urbana).

Become a monthly supporter of IFI.  Click HERE for more information.

Illinois’ lesbian lawmaker Kelly Cassidy, arch nemesis of the good, the true, and the beautiful and creator of the worst legislation (e.g., the barbaric Baby Snuff Law) to come out of the fetid swamp in Springfield, and her collaborator Robyn Gabel have just sponsored HB 4870, a bill to require all children to mandate the HPV vaccine before entering middle school. And by all, I mean ALL.

This invasive, imperial diktat would apply to children in public and private schools—which includes all private religious schools (Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim), and homeschools—no exceptions. Don’t be surprised, however, if an amendment is added to exempt homeschools, (maybe even religious private schools). There’s little that presumptuous, self-righteous Springfield swampsters with their super-majorities in both houses fear, but they do fear homeschool parents.

You public school parents are out of luck. You are not feared because the swampsters know that very few Christians in public schools will say or do anything in response to the outrageous diktats the swampsters pass. That’s why they’ve been able to pass their ignorant sex ed law, their ignorant “anti-bullying” law, their pernicious “LGBT” school indoctrination bill—all of which were really Trojan horses to get their pro-sexual deviance ideology into government schools.

Now that America is awash in sexual deviance, the same reprobates whose sexual ideology has caused the spread of sexually transmitted diseases are swooping in to try to fix their mess by interfering in the private lives of all parents.

Whether you choose to vaccinate your children with the HPV vaccine or not is irrelevant. This issue is about the usurpation of parental rights by a ravenous government behemoth seeking to devour not only your rights but also the minds, hearts, and bodies of your children.

Read the bill for yourself and weep—no, don’t weep. Get mad, and don’t take it anymore:

Provides that the Department of Public Health shall adopt a rule requiring students, upon entering the sixth grade of any public, private, or parochial school, to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and requiring confirmation that the student has completed the series of HPV vaccinations upon entering the ninth grade of any public, private, or parochial school. Provides that the Department shall adopt the rule in time to allow students to receive the vaccination before the start of the school year beginning in 2022. Effective January 1, 2021.

While Cassidy and Gabel are so sure that the HPV is completely safe that they are willing to command that other people’s children be vaccinated, many parents reviewing research like this are less certain:

Discrepancies in the evaluation of the safety of the human papillomavirus vaccine

Hypothesis: Human papillomavirus vaccination syndrome–small fiber neuropathy and dysautonomia could be its underlying pathogenesis.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia With Chronic Fatigue After HPV Vaccination as Part of the “Autoimmune/Auto-inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants”

Chronic epipharyngitis: A missing trigger in chronic fatigue syndrome

Multiple Evanescent White Dot Syndrome after Human Papillomavirus Vaccination

Severe somatoform and dysautonomic syndromes after HPV vaccination: case series and review of literature

The epidemiological profile of ASIA syndrome after HPV vaccination: an evaluation based on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Systems

It looks like Springfield swampsters are trying to shoo every last conservative out of Illinois.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state representative to let him or her know that you object to political officials usurping parental rights, especially on medical issues. This is an issue that should be between parents and their pediatrician. Public officials have no moral authority mandating controversial health treatments. Ask him/her to vote against HB 4870 if comes up for a vote.

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/HPV-Vaccine-for-ALL-Children.mp3

IFI is hosting our annual Worldview Conference on March 7th at the Village Church of Barrington. This year’s conference is titled “Thinking Biblically About Our Corrosive Culture” and features Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Rob Gagnon. For more information, please click HERE for a flyer or click the button below to register for the conference.

Evanston, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, has a reputation in the rest of the state as being affluent and liberal. Last year, its city council voted to levy a 3 percent tax, with a cap of $10 million, on recreational marijuana to go towards racial reparations. Now, the City’s Health and Human Service Committee has submitted a death with symbolic dignity resolution to the city council, which many believe clashes with the rights of the disabled.

On February 3, the committee voted to send the resolution supporting the “death with dignity” legislation, which is essentially a euphemism for legally assisted suicide.

Illinois State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), who has represented the 18^th District since 2010, attended the meeting. She indicated her support for the resolution and for such a bill at the state level. According to the local newspaper, Evanston Now, Gabel said she would be in a “far stronger position” advocating for such a bill if she is able to demonstrate “[her] hometown supports her.” Her district also includes the suburbs Glencoe, Northbrook, Northfield, Wilmette, and Winnetka.

Evanston Now reported that activists supporting what it called a “medical aid in dying measure” wore yellow T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Compassion and Choice.” Interestingly, the slogan sounds similar to that of pro-abortion advocates.

Disability activists from the Progress Center for Independent Living were present to oppose the resolution. Larry Biondi, an Evanston resident who has cerebral palsy, spoke for them from his wheelchair using a text-reading computer. If such legislation were to be legalized, he warned, it would be “the cheapest treatment available in our profit-driven health care system.” He also worried that there would be no safeguards against abuse.

A chaplain for a local retirement community, Three Crowns Park, argued against Biondi and the other disability activists. Chaplain John Lionberger said that in his talks with residents, they have expressed their support for “this kind of option, [which would] allow them the autonomy to make decisions about their own lives.”

Lionberger shared his feelings of watching his father dying, “screaming in pain,” and crying about the fear others feel of suffering a painful death.

The same committee debated a similar resolution in 2018 and decided not to bring it before the Evanston City Council.

One alderperson in favor of the resolution cited Oregon’s adoption of a similar statue in 1997, saying that she had heard no evidence of coercion or abuse. Another shared that he was not in favor of it based on his beliefs.

Ultimately, the resolution passed to go on to the full city council, with Alderperson Cicely Fleming stating that she does not believe it is  “within [their] capacity” to decide such an issue.

The next meeting of the city council is scheduled for Monday, February 24.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to Mayor Stephen Hagerty and all 9 Aldermen to ask them to respect the sanctity of human life and reject this resolution in support of assisted suicide.

IFI is hosting our annual Worldview Conference on March 7th at the Village Church of Barrington. This year’s conference is titled “Thinking Biblically About Our Corrosive Culture” and features Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. Rob Gagnon. For more information, please click HERE for a flyer or click the button below to register for the conference.

I wrote this last Friday:

Regressives got a pledge from the thoroughly corrupt Mike Madigan, who rules Madiganistan with a blood-stained fist, to speedily advance Cassidy’s radical abortion bill by any unethical means possible, preventing due deliberation and preventing those who seek to defend life a chance to marshal their forces against it.

When I wrote those words, I had no idea how low Madigan and State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) would stoop in their unholy quest to make Illinois the Land of Liquidation—baby liquidation, that is.

On Sunday night during Memorial Day weekend when most Illinoisans took time to honor the men and women who have sacrificed their comfort, time, safety, and lives to secure our freedom, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) revealed again the fetid rot that has devoured him and much of the Illinois General Assembly. He suddenly scheduled a meeting of the Appropriations-Human Services Committee to vote on Cassidy’s loathsome Kill-Babies-Bill—deceptively named the “Reproductive Health Act”—with only one hour’s notice. This bill will, among other things, legalize human slaughter throughout the whole nine months of pregnancy (It repeals the partial-birth abortion ban) for any reason—including sex selection—and encode in law the repugnant notion that unborn humans have zero rights.

Early Tuesday afternoon, the Illinois House passed Cassidy’s Kill-Babies-Bill by a vote of 64-50 (with four voting present). It now moves to the Illinois Senate, which has a greater percentage of liberals. (See roll call graphic below.)

Here are some of the stinking rotten details of the egregious violation of public trust that took place Sunday night and of which many Illinoisans may be unaware:

• Cassidy introduced her original Kill-Babies-Bill (HB 2495) on February 13 but it never received even a hearing, so she tweaked it a bit to make it more offensive to the consciences of decent people, including specifically denying that humans in the womb have any legal rights.

• On Sunday, May 26, Cassidy and her accomplices then gutted a different bill (i.e., The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code: SB 25) that had already moved through the first three of the five steps of the legislative process, replacing it with her Kill-Babies-Bill as an amendment to the now-gutted bill. This enables Cassidy’s bill to circumvent the regular lawmaking process before the legislative session ends on May 31.

• Madigan’s House rules require a minimum of one hour’s notice between the posting of a bill and its hearing and vote in committee. Cassidy and her accomplices posted the new 126-page “amendment” at 6:08 p.m. on Sunday night during a holiday weekend and scheduled the hearing at 7:08 p.m., thereby preventing opponents from attending and speaking out against it. The “suddenness” of the meeting explains why Cassidy had an ACLU attorney present with a polished 4-minute disquisition and an abortionist with a 5-minute presentation while opponent speakers Ralph Rivera representing Illinois Right to Life Action and Zachary Wichmann representing the Catholic Conference of Illinois were able to make only extemporaneous comments.

• At the beginning of the meeting, committee members were given a thick packet of letters from only proponents of the Kill-Babies-Bill.

• The spanking new Kill-Babies-Bill/amendment was assigned to the House Appropriations-Human Services Committee—chaired by State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Chicago), who is a former training coordinator for Planned Parenthood. The bill did not belong in this committee because it contained no appropriations. It was assigned to that committee because that’s the committee where it was assured to pass.

In an inspiring, must-see statement, State Representative Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) succinctly addressed the violations of the public’s trust and the spirit of laws intended to increase the transparency of the lawmaking process that took place Sunday night. Please watch Rep. Demmer in this short video.

Far-left freshman State Representative Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) tried futilely to dismiss the ethical implications of what Madigan did in calling this hearing by saying the Reproductive Health Act has been out for months, so constituents had plenty of time to make their voices heard.

Yeah, riiight.  Nothing to see there. Pay no attention to Madigan hiding behind the curtain. It’s completely unimportant that Leftists gutted an existing bill to substitute in Cassidy’s radical and pernicious Kill-Babies-Bill. And it’s completely unimportant that the hearing was suddenly scheduled on Sunday night during a holiday weekend. And it’s completely unimportant that Cassidy’s 126-page “amendment” was posted the minimum amount of time required by law (one-hour) before a hearing commences making it impossible for constituents or experts to show up to testify in opposition to this proposal.

State Representative Tony McCombie (R-Savanna)—a woman—responded that the issue wasn’t whether constituents had sufficient time to express their views to their lawmakers. The issue was that because of Madigan’s decision to suddenly call the committee meeting on Sunday night on a holiday weekend with only one hour’s notice, Illinoisans were denied the opportunity to express their views at the committee hearing. Unlike the ACLU attorney and abortionist, Rivera and Wichmann were denied the opportunity to develop and present polished presentations.

Another hero of the evening was State Representative Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) who asked how many of the 39,832 abortions performed in Illinois in 2017 were “medically necessary” to preserve the health or life of pregnant women—which are the reasons emphasized by abortion-shouters to justify the slaughter of humans in the womb. (Watch the video here.)

Cassidy admitted she has no idea because the state does not collect such information. Of course, it’s a moot issue, since allowing abortion to protect the “health” of the mother is so wildly expansive that it includes any and no reason.

In an effort to silence Bailey, Cassidy demonstrated—again—how manipulative and deceitful she is, saying in an increasingly hostile and aggressive tone,

I will tell you that my abortion was medically necessary. It saved my life. It preserved my fertility. It allowed for the creation of my family, my children who are my world.

Cassidy knew that no white man in this anti-white, anti-male climate would dare ask any follow-up questions following her faux-indignant and irrelevant “revelation.”

Here’s what Cassidy didn’t say in her exploitative and misleading response but has said publicly to the Chicago Sun-Times. Her “abortion” followed fertility treatments that resulted in a “blighted ovum” implanted in her uterus and in an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants in a fallopian tube rather than the uterus. The termination of an ectopic pregnancy is not referred to as an abortion, and with a blighted ovum, there is no embryo, so her personal story is irrelevant.

As McCombie was graciously expressing her sympathy for Cassidy’s experience, Cassidy, oozing open hostility at the lawmaker’s compassion, interrupted her to say, “I’m not sorry. I’m deeply grateful that that option was available.”

We’re all grateful that women can have ectopic pregnancies terminated—which need not involve the intentional killing of a fetus—and we’re all grateful that anembryonic (i.e., no embryo) blighted ova can be removed via a D & C, but women would have those ethical options even if abortion were banned.

Perhaps Cassidy would compromise with Republicans and agree to limit the termination of pregnancies to ectopic pregnancies and the removal of blighted ova—or as she referred to hers, “abortions.” Ectopic pregnancies account for 1-2% of pregnancies and 93% of that 1-2% result in miscarriages, so such a compromise would reduce the number of humans killed in the womb by a LOT.

Bailey—who urged a “NO” vote on what he rightly called “this disgusting bill”—noticed something odd in the changes Cassidy made to her Kill-Babies-Bill, something that exposes Cassidy’s anti-science/anti-reality ignorance. He asked her why she replaced the word “woman” with “individual” when referring to those seeking an abortion. Cassidy, obviously in thrall to the science-denying “trans” ideology, defiantly refused to answer Bailey’s easy-peasy questions:

Bailey: We’ve changed “woman” to “individual.” Who else can get pregnant besides a woman?

Cassidy (answering stiffly): Anyone with a uterus and ovaries can become pregnant.

Bailey: So, someone other than a woman can get pregnant?

Cassidy: Anyone with a uterus and ovaries can become pregnant.

Bailey: Does anyone other than a woman have a uterus?

Cassidy: Anyone with a uterus and ovaries can become pregnant. (Watch the video here.)

It’s a good thing Cassidy-the-Stepford-lawmaker who robotically repeated the “trans” mantra isn’t also a biology teacher.

Cassidy said, “These efforts [to outlaw abortion] have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable populations.” Say what? Was Cassidy about to express her concern for “fetuses” with Down Syndrome? Was she about to express her concern for babies aborted because their mothers don’t like their sex? Was she about to express her concern for black babies who are being targeted by Planned Parenthood?

Nope. No compassion for those vulnerable populations from Cassidy. Her concern was purportedly for “women of color and the poor.” Of course, everyone knows Cassidy’s central concern is about preserving the legal right of women to hire people to kill their offspring, whether those women are poor women of color or wealthy, colorless women.

Please take the time to watch State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) in this short video, as well as this short video of State Representative Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) who spoke out boldly in committee. Illinois desperately needs more lawmakers like Demmer, Bailey, Bourne, McCombie, and Bryant.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to send a message to your state senator, state representative and to Gov. JB Pritzker. Urge them to stop targeting innocent pre-born children and vulnerable women in Illinois. Ask them to vote against the grotesquely misnamed “Reproductive Health Act.”

Listen to this article read by Laurie:

https://staging.illinoisfamily.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SB-25-House.mp3

SB 25 Roll Call

As you may know, our state lawmakers returned to the Capitol late Sunday afternoon to begin their last week of regular session, which is scheduled to end on Friday, May 31st. At 6:08 PM, SB 25 (House Amendment 1) was posted and then scheduled for a hearing at 7:08 PM. This proposal, sponsored by State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) is very similar to the extreme abortion expansion legislation filed by her earlier this year.

It should be noted that this bill was posted and scheduled in the absolute minimum amount of time required to be considered in the Illinois General Assembly and done on a Sunday night in the middle of Memorial Day weekend. Proponents were somehow prepared, however, with legal and medical witnesses to testify and a small group of melodramatic activists wearing handmaid costumes (see picture above) to boot.

State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Deputy Republican Leader and Minority Spokesmen for the Appropriations-Human Services Committee, pointed out at the outset of the hearing that “this bill, which is not an appropriations bill, was sent to an appropriations committee of the House. This bill does not make any appropriations for the state; it is a substantive bill. But it was sent to this committee.” His complaints fell on deaf ears.

For approximately two hours, the committee heard testimony from proponents and opponents, and the sponsor fielded questions from members of the committee. Unfortunately, Committee Chairperson Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), cut questions short. To this point, State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Litchfield), strenuously complained that she had many more questions to ask about the legislation and pointed out that the committee process was the right place to do it. Yet, questions and answers were severely truncated.

You can watch the entire hearing on the IFI YouTube channel.

In the end, SB 25 was passed out of committee by a vote of 12-7 along party lines. It now moves to the Illinois House floor where it is already on 3rd reading (conveniently teed up) and could be called for a vote of the full Illinois House today or anytime this week.

PRAY: If you believe, as we do at IFI, that our “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places,” then you recognize the centrality and indispensability of prayer in circumstances like this. Without a doubt, this is a spiritual battle and well beyond our human control. Frankly, given the makeup of the General Assembly, it looks impossible to stop this bill. But since we serve a God who specializes in doing the impossible, our prayers and petitions must flood His throne room with appeals for our pre-born neighbors throughout this week:

Pray that proponents of this destructive legislation would not be able garner the 60 votes needed to pass from the Illinois House to the Illinois Senate.

Pray that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers would be troubled by the scope of this legislation.

Pray that lawmakers would understand that pre-born babies, just like their own children and grandchildren, are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of God. Human beings are His crown jewel of creation as they are made in the image and likeness of God.

Pray that lawmakers would recognize that abortion extinguishes a human life with great potential.

Pray for Almighty God’s intervention in this situation in Springfield. Pray Psalm 108:12-13.

Take ACTION: If you are able to fast and pray today, please join me in doing so, yet we cannot stop there. We still must act by calling our state representative today to urge him/her to reject SB 25, the grotesquely misnamed “Reproductive Health Act.” Click HERE to find their contact information. Your state senator and state rep. are the last two on the page. Please call today! The Capitol switchboard number is (217) 782-2000.

You can also call Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and respectfully appeal to his staff not to expand abortion or repeal parental notification through the passage of SB 25. Please call his Springfield office at (217) 782-5350.

You can (and should) also send an email your state lawmakers:

More ACTION:  Click HERE to send a message to your state senator, state representative and to Gov. JB Pritzker. Urge them to stop targeting innocent pre-born children and vulnerable women in Illinois. Ask them to vote against the grotesquely misnamed “Reproductive Health Act.”

P.S. We continue to watch for final action on other bills (among others): “recreational” marijuana (SB 7), the anti-IFI resolution (HJR 55), gambling expansion (HB 1260, HB 3308, and SB 516), and a plethora of other tax and fee increases. Pray that these bills fall short of the votes they need to pass.

A bold voice for pro-family values in Illinois!

Click HERE to learn about supporting IFI on a monthly basis.

Equality Illinois, Illinois’ most prominent cheerleader for all things sexually deviant—especially doctrinaire and destructive legislation—is cheering the reintroduction of a bill that would make it even easier for gender-dysphoric persons to have their birth certificates legally falsified.

House Bill 1785, the “Birth Certificate Designation Act,” introduced by State Representative Greg Harris and co-sponsored by the usual suspects, like Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), and Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), would amend the Vital Records Act to allow those Illinoisans who wish they were the opposite sex to enlist the government in their effort to deceive.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to send an email message to your state representative to ask him/her to reject HB 1785 and uphold birth certificates as legal documents.  The state of Illinois has no duty or right to make it easier for men and women who wish they were the opposite sex to falsify their birth certificates.

Background
Currently, a sex-rejecting Illinoisan who seeks a falsified birth certificate must present an affidavit from a physician certifying that he or she has performed surgery on the sex-rejecting person. Harris and his accomplices seek to make this process easier by allowing doctors, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, and licensed mental health professionals from any state provide “declarations” that the patient has “undergone treatment…for the purpose of gender transition.” In an attempt to conceal that this effort enlists government to participate in fraud, the bill’s sponsors change the wording from “sex change” to “change of sex designation,” thereby implicitly acknowledging the science-denying nature of their quest: No one’s sex can change.

For those who are unclear about what this change would mean, we have the confused attorney for the ACLU of Illinois, John Knight (who is suing District 211 on behalf of a boy who wants to be a girl) to offer clarity:

House Bill 1785 protects Illinoisans facing the unnecessary choice between living without a birth certificate that conforms with [sic] who they are and undergoing surgery they may not want or need. The scientific and medical community agrees that surgery is not necessary medical treatment for transgender people and shouldn’t be required to obtain an accurate birth certificate.

It is decidedly not accurate for a birth certificate to state that a person who is objectively male and was identified at birth as such to be changed to state that this person was identified at birth as female.

Many may not know that it can take as little as two visits and filling out some questionnaires for a certified mental health professional to declare that a sex-rejecting 18-year-old has undergone treatment for the purpose of gender transition.

Obama’s Department of Education provides clear evidence of where Leftist thinking is going. His Education Department mandated that schools treat students in every way as if they are the sex they want to be. According to his diktat, no cross-dressing, hormone-doping, or surgical mutilations are needed for students to be treated as if they are the sex they are not. No affidavit from a medical professional certifying that the student is undergoing treatment for gender dysphoria is needed. Not even parental permission can be required in order for a student to access opposite-sex restrooms, locker rooms, and hotel rooms on school-sponsored overnight trips. All that’s required is a student’s declaration that he or she “identifies” as the opposite sex.

That said, it’s critical to remember that cross-dressing, hormone-doping, and surgical mutilations do not turn males into females or vice versa. Compassion and a commitment to truth dictate that we must not treat students who take cross-sex hormones as if they are in reality the sex they are not.

And the government should never be required to participate in a science-denying fiction.

It is staggering to see a modern civilization snookered into accepting (or pretending to accept) the science-denying superstition that surgical tinkering and hormone-doping can turn a man into a woman or vice versa. The ordinary men and women behind the curtain promoting this superstition know full well that no human’s sex can change, so they had to invent new language to confuse and deceive. Thus, we hear the terms “transgender,” “transman,” “transwoman,” “cisgender,” “cisman,” and “cisgender.”

These terms are intended to conceal that humans have an objective, immutable biological sex that cannot change. And these terms are intended to create the illusion that the disordered desire to be the opposite sex (i.e., “transgender”) is ontologically equivalent to being that sex, hence the invention of the term “cisgender.” “Cisgender” refers to people whose “gender identity” (i.e., their subjective feelings about their sex) aligns with their objective, immutable sex. By creating a word that emphasizes subjective feelings about one’s sex rather than one’s sex, Leftists have managed to distract and delude otherwise science-respecting people.

There’s another new word concocted to normalize disordered feelings about one’s sex. That word is “gender marker.” This was invented to smooth passage of laws that permit gender-dysphoric men and women to have their birth certificates legally falsified, thus Equality Illinois’ press release states that current laws allow a person to “correct” the “gender marker” on his or her birth certificate only “if they have undergone a surgical procedure.”

A formerly rational society understood that birth certificates record the sex of a child as identified by a doctor at birth. In a convoluted rhetorical scheme, the Left now says that birth certificates record the “gender marker” that doctors “assign” babies at birth. The ability to get purportedly rational, science-respecting lawmakers to pass laws mandating that government commit fraud depends on the acceptance of this rhetorical non-sense.

What Illinois actually needs is a law prohibiting persons from having the sex designation on their birth certificates changed unless they produce an affidavit from a medical doctor certifying that they have an intersex condition, which are objective diagnosable disorders—wholly distinct from “transgenderism”—that result in “a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).” The Left likes to conflate “transgenderism” with intersex disorders in order to muddy the ontological, moral, and political waters.

Anti-nature superstitions cannot endure, so this one will eventually be tossed into the dustbin of history that holds in it scores of other abandoned superstitions. Tragically, countless men, women, and children will suffer before that happens. When that day comes, every activist, school employee, politician, and ordinary citizen who promoted lies or cowardly acquiesced to them will have to confront his or her own culpability for the incalculable damage that will have been done to so many. Don’t be one of those people. Speak truth persistently and courageously.

Read more recent articles from Laurie:

The Radical “Trans”-Formation of America

New Trier High School Avoids Diversity Like the Plague

Highlights Magazine for Children Affirms Homoeroticism

Join IFI at our Feb. 18th Worldview Conference

We are excited about our third annual Worldview Conference featuring world-renowned theologian Dr. Frank Turek on Sat., Feb. 18, 2017 in Barrington. Dr. Turek is s a dynamic speaker and the award-winning author of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist”

Join us for a wonderful opportunity to take enhance your biblical worldview and equip you to more effectively engage the culture:

Click HERE to learn more or to register!

SB 1564 undermines the freedom
of conscience and invites intimidation and
legal action against pro-life healthcare providers.

Last year, State Senator Daniel Biss (D-Skokie) introduced SB 1564 to radically alter the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act.  This proposal was passed by the Illinois Senate on April 22, 2015 by a vote of 34-19. It then moved to the Illinois House where it was picked up by State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston).

Late in the afternoon of May 25th, the Illinois House debated and passed this ominous new mandate by a vote of 61-54.  (See roll call below.)  The bill now heads to the office of the governor.

SB 1564 would force doctors, nurses, pharmacists to distribute information to help a patients find objectionable medical services such as abortion, sterilization, and certain end-of-life care.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to send a message to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to ask him to please uphold religious freedom and conscience rights for medical personnel in Illinois.  Ask him to veto SB 1564 and the tyranny it represents.

Emails are noticed, but we also need a flood of calls to the Governor’s office: (217) 782-0244 or (312) 814-2121.  Once you’ve taken action, please pray that he will understand how coercive this legislation is.

You may want to point out that according to the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, 95 percent of physicians in a national poll agreed, “I would rather stop practicing medicine altogether then be forced to violate my conscience.”

It is important to know that SB 1564 will also negatively affect crisis pregnancy centers that provide health care services by requiring that these life centers give referrals to Planned Parenthood or other venues that promote abortion.

IFI is deeply grateful to those lawmakers who spoke out during debate today, including:  State Representatives Peter Breen (R-Lombard), Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), Barbara Wheeler (R-Cyrstal Lake), Tom Morrision (R-Palatine), C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville), Sheri Jesiel (R-Antioch), and Margo McDermed (R-Frankfort).

(Click HERE to learn more about the problems of SB 1564.)

Editor’s Note:  This bill could be called for a vote as early as this afternoon.
Please take a few minutes to contact your state senator today!

As noted in my last article on the comprehensive sex ed bill (HB 2675), no lawmakers in the Illinois House who supported the bill, including the sponsors, provided any research-based evidence during floor debates proving the superior effectiveness of comprehensive sex ed. In response to an inquiry from an Illinois citizen, State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) provided two articles and one study in defense of her support for this troubling and unnecessary bill (currently any school district is free to use comprehensive sex ed curricula). Her use of these particular pieces of evidence demonstrates exactly what’s wrong with both this bill and the sloppy way it’s been promoted in Springfield.

The bill’s supporters cited the high rates of teen pregnancy and STDs as the reasons this proposed law is necessary. If passed this bill would mandate the use of what are called “comprehensive sex ed” or contraceptive-based “Sexual Risk Reduction” (SRR) curricula, while banning the use of what are called “abstinence-centered,” or “Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA)” curricula in any school district that teaches about sexual health, which is virtually every school district in the state.

The two articles cited by Gabel are “Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs: Ineffective, Unethical, and Poor Public Health,” and “Review of Key Findings of ‘Emerging Answers 2007’ Report on Sex Education Programs.” The one study is “Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S.”

In addition to making arguable claims about abstinence education, neither of the articles even claims that comprehensive sex ed is more effective at reducing rates of teen pregnancies and STDs.

And the one study Gabel cites is a deeply flawed study from the University of Georgia (UGA) that addresses only teen pregnancy.

Mary Anne Mosack, National Director for State Initiatives of the National Abstinence Education Association writes this about the UGA study:

This study is a weak attempt to correlate high birth rates in states to abstinence education. Even the most basic understanding of research protocols, cautions against claiming causation based on correlation.  This study draws a very simplistic conclusion to the complex problem of teen pregnancy. There are numerous factors contributing to high teen birth rates not the least of which are family structure, poverty and cultural environment.

However, this study attempts to draw conclusions for a subset of the population (only students in abstinence education classes) by looking at data for an entire state population to establish their findings. This showcases an extremely flawed study design that not only invalidates findings but calls into question the motivation behind a study that purports to seriously inform public policy based on scientific rigor.

By examining state sex education laws alone the researchers make the erroneous conclusion that these laws accurately reflect what is actually being taught in schools and make no mention of the percentage of students in a state who actually received abstinence classes, a serious research error on which to base such sweeping conclusions!

Vast field experience across the country shows that contraceptive-based programs have been implemented in every state regardless of the law. Even the very anti-abstinence Guttmacher Institute concluded that only 25% of schools across the country were receiving abstinence education during the decade examined in this study. In actual practice, no state can be categorized as “abstinence-only.”

Further considerations must note this study does not indicate how a state is trending. Are they moving in the right or wrong direction? It is clear that abstinence opponents would like to take all the credit for the recent positive drop in teen birth rates while disingenuously attacking abstinence education. Producing a flawed study to make that claim is sad commentary on what should be a sincere attempt to effectively reach the youth we are trying to serve.

Here are two lessons we should learn from this embarrassing attempt by Rep. Gabel to justify the legal banning of the use of abstinence-centered education:

1. If the Left introduces, for example, three studies that say something negative about abstinence education and/or positive about comprehensive sex ed, and the Right introduces three studies that say something negative about  comprehensive sex ed and/or positive about abstinence-centered education, it’s a wash. Lawmakers can’t rationally mandate the use of one type of curriculum unless they can provide proof that it is consistently more effective at achieving some particular goal.
   
   
2. The bill’s supporters have told us what their goals are, and they can’t change goals when their lack of evidence for their stated goals is exposed. The bill’s sponsors stated that their goals are to reduce the rates of STDs and teen pregnancies. Gabel produced only one flawed study that addresses only one of those problems [the bill’s House sponsor State Representative Camille Lilly (D-Chicago) produced none]. The other two articles didn’t even claim that comprehensive sex ed is more effective than abstinence education at solving the problems of high rates of teen pregnancies and STDs. The articles make the arguable claims either that abstinence education hasn’t achieved its own goals or that it’s no more effective than comprehensive sex ed. Well, if the two types of curricula are roughly comparable, the Left can’t rationally ban only one of the two.

The Left continually misrepresents abstinence-centered (SRA) curricula and even created a term that embodies their misrepresentations: “abstinence-only education.” To those like State Representative Scott Drury (D-Highwood) who admitted he never even looked at an abstinence-centered curriculum before voting to ban them, this title suggests abstinence-centered education addresses only abstinence, which is false. Here is a description of the content of typical Sexual Risk Avoidance curricula:

SRA abstinence education teaches that “having sex” can potentially affect not only the physical aspect of a teen’s life but also, as research shows, can have emotional, psychological, social, economic, and educational consequences as well. That’s why topics frequently discussed in an SRA abstinence education class include how to develop a healthy relationship, how to avoid or get out of a dangerous, unhealthy, or abusive relationship, developing skills to make good decisions, setting goals for the future and taking realistic steps to reach them, understanding and avoiding STDs, information about contraceptives and their effectiveness against pregnancy and STDs, practical ways to avoid inappropriate sexual advances, and why saving sex for marriage is optimal.

Remember, if the evidence provided by our lawmakers doesn’t specifically address STD and teen pregnancy rates, it’s irrelevant. And if the evidence doesn’t prove conclusively that comprehensive sex ed is consistently more effective than abstinence-centered education in reducing teen pregnancy and STD rates, there is no justification for legally prohibiting the use of abstinence-centered curricula.

The evidence on the efficacy of abstinence-centered sex ed is certainly sufficient to allow school districts the right to choose it. For more clarification on the biased and inaccurate claims made about abstinence-centered sex education, click HERE.

Here are two articles of particular relevance on this website:

NAEA Report: Considerations for Protecting Teen Health: Part I will refute point by point the claims from the Guttmacher article on the effectiveness of comprehensive sex ed that Rep. Gabel cites.

Correcting Misinformation.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send an email or a fax to your state senator today to ask him/her to vote NO to HB 2675.  You can also call the Capitol switchboard number at (217) 782-2000 and ask to be transferred to your state senator’s office or call IFI for their number.

Click HERE to make a donation to the Illinois Family Institute.

All Illinoisans should be troubled that our lawmakers vote for bills without demanding any evidence proving that the bills will solve the problems that the bills’ sponsors cite as the reasons the bills are needed.

Case in point: last week’s passage of the “comprehensive” sex ed bill (HB 2675) in the Illinois House of Representatives, which followed embarrassing performances by “progressive” lawmakers that wouldn’t pass muster in high school mock legislative assemblies.

State Representative Camille Lilly (D-Chicago) sponsored HB 2675, citing the problems of unwed pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among teens as the reasons comprehensive sex ed is necessary, but never provided conclusive evidence that comprehensive sex ed would solve those problems or that abstinence education—which is type of curricula that “progressives” detest—is the cause of the problems.

This bill compels every school district that teaches about sexuality to use “comprehensive” sex ed curricula even though every school district in Illinois already has that right. In fact, 60 percent of school districts in Illinois already use “comprehensive” sex ed.

Why would lawmakers mandate that all school districts use the type of curricula that most districts already use and is apparently failing? Why rob school districts of the right and freedom to choose abstinence-based curricula, which by the way, are medically accurate, unless there is rock solid proof that comprehensive sex ed is more effective at reducing the rates of teen pregnancy and STIs. Why rob school districts of the right and freedom to use the type of curricula that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce just last summer recommended?

I listened to the entire floor debate on this legislation. Let’s look at what passes for logic and evidence in Springfield and what our lawmakers find intellectually persuasive:

State Representative Kathleen Willis (D-Northlake) — a supporter of the bill — suggested that this bill is necessary in order that “young children” will not “find out their sex education on the playgrounds or from their friends?” Rep. Willis offers the peculiar proposition that there are only two possibilities: comprehensive sex ed or playground sex ed. There is, however, another alternative: medically accurate abstinence education.

The strangest exchange during the debate took place between Rep. Lilly and Rep. David Reis (R-Olney). Perhaps someone can make sense of Lilly’s nearly incomprehensible responses:

Reis: “What exactly is ‘age-appropriate’ curriculum?”

Lilly: “Age-appropriate basically deals with providing information at the age at which the youth is prepared to receive.”

Reis: “And who determines that?”

Lilly: “The schools, they determine the curriculums.”

Reis: So, the State Board of Education won’t be mandating a certain curriculum at a certain time with your bill.”

Lilly: It’s a local school decision made by local officials of the school system.

Rice: “You say that it’s not a mandate to teach a particular curriculum, but it is a mandate…that they [schools] have to teach something. Is that correct?”

Lilly: “This bill is not a mandate.

Reis: “It’s not a mandate to teach a particular curriculum, but it is a mandate that they have to teach something. Is that not correct?”

Lilly: “No, it is not.”

Reis: “Are you sure?”

Lilly: “I am positive.”

Reis: “If that’s the case, why do you need your bill?”

Lilly: “Currently, the schools already have comprehensive sex education on the books. This bill brings clarification and definition to the existing code.”

Reis: “But if each school district has their own control over their own curriculum, and what they do, and whether or not they choose to do this, why do you need your bill? Your bill is a mandate that they [schools] have to teach something.”

Lilly: “This bill brings a standard of comprehensive sex education throughout the state—comprehensive, basic standard of sex education within the public school system.”

Reis: “So, now you’re saying there is a basic curriculum that needs to be adhered to, and then if the local school system wants to teach more of that they can?”

Lilly: “No, each school has the opportunity to decide whether they would want to offer sex education to their schools. That decision is made by the local school professionals and officers.

Supporters of the bill, either confused themselves or trying to confuse others, repeat ad nauseum that this bill allows schools to choose their own curriculum. What they don’t clearly explain is that schools may choose their own curriculum as long as it’s a “comprehensive sex ed” curriculum. School districts may choose not to offer sex ed, but if they offer it—as most do—this bill robs them of the right and freedom to choose an abstinence-based curriculum. (Don’t be deceived by the adjective “comprehensive.” Comprehensive sex ed simply means it includes whatever “progressives” view as important. Click here to get an overview of what “comprehensive sex educators” view as complete and age-appropriate.)

State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) then asked if this bill “would provide instruction on both abstinence and contraception for the prevention of…sexually transmitted diseases.” Perhaps Gabel would be surprised to learn no form of contraception prevents sexually transmitted diseases, and some forms of contraception don’t even reduce the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease.

Gabel also asked, “Isn’t it true that numerous studies show that comprehensive sexual health education that stress abstinence as well as provides information on prevention results in positive health outcomes for teens and young adults?” Neither Gabel nor Lilly, however, cited these “numerous studies.”

Rep. Gabel went on to share an irrelevant but illuminating tidbit of parenting advice from her own life. When her daughter was a “preteen,” Gabel bought her the feminist sexuality bible Our Bodies, Ourselves, infamous for the inclusion of age-inappropriate material wholly unrelated to reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. To read an excerpt from this book that Gabel thinks is age-appropriate for an 11 or 12 year-old, click HERE.

Rep. Gabel further shared this: “I would see my daughter’s friends just reading through this book, and her friends had no other place to go. They would call her on the phone. They would come over to the house to read the book.”

Does Gabel know for a fact that her daughters’ friends had no other place to go for essential sexual health information? Does she know for a fact that the parents of her daughters’ friends did not share essential sexual health information with their children? Could it be that the information in Our Bodies, Ourselves that her daughters’ friends found so compelling were ideas that were not essential to sexual health, or that it was information their parents would have found age-inappropriate? If her daughters’ friends were not getting the information presented in Our Bodies, Ourselves from their parents, was it Gabel’s right to present it to these young girls?

This anecdote epitomizes the arrogance of “progressives” who believe that children belong to the “collective” and who are so certain that their beliefs and values are the only correct ones that they are willing to usurp and circumvent the rights of other parents.

While sexuality amoralists like Lilly and Gabel wax concerned about the high rates of teen pregnancy and STIs, they intentionally omit discussions of the central reasons “progressives” push for comprehensive sex ed. They push for it because “progressives” have virtually no moral boundaries when it comes to sexuality, including the early sexualization of children and the affirmation of homosexuality and gender confusion as normative. While there is no conclusive research proving that comprehensive sex ed is consistently more effective than abstinence education at reducing rates of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, it is indisputable that comprehensive sex ed is much more effective in advancing Leftwing beliefs about early and deviant sexual activity.

If you’re ambivalent about the value of this bill, perhaps this exhortation from State Representative Chris Welch (D-Westchester) will convince you: “This bill is keepin’ it real….These kids are having sex….It is important that we make sure that they do it properly and safely and that we can make sure the public health is maintained.” In the service of keepin’ it real, I’d like to suggest that “proper teen sex” is oxymoronic, perhaps even moronic.

State Representative Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago) prophesied with absolute certainty that the passage of this bill is the “fiscally responsible thing to do. We’re going to avoid spending money on the treatment of STDs. We’re going to avoid additional money on social services for unwanted children.” Apparently, Rep. Mitchell’s presumptuous proclamation is as good as actual evidence to those who voted for the bill.

State Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-Buffalo Grove) disingenuously expressed her deep concerns about the floor debates: “I find it troubling that we’re debating whether medically accurate, age-appropriate information is appropriate.” Any thinking and fair person knows that opponents of the bill have no problem with medically accurate information being presented to students. Opponents of this bill are concerned about the “age-appropriate” part. What the creators of typical comprehensive sex ed curricula view as “age-appropriate” is viewed by others as wildly inappropriate.

Rep. Nekritz then told a secondhand story about a teenage girl who found herself pregnant despite never having had intercourse. That is the “evidence” Nekritz believes is sufficient to justify a bill that prevents schools from using abstinence education. Did Nekritz bother to inquire about whether this young girl had received any kind of sex education and if so, what kind?

Rep. Lilly cited one CDC study but didn’t identify the study, so it’s difficult to fact-check. Lilly claimed that a CDC analysis found that “comprehensive sex ed is more effective than abstinence only.” According to the Washington Post, one 2009 CDC study found that “there is insufficient evidence to know whether programs that focus on encouraging teens to remain sexually abstinent until marriage are effective.” A 2012 CDC study of comprehensive sex ed and abstinence education concludes  that “No conclusions could be drawn on the effectiveness of group-based abstinence education.” And a 2012 criticism of the 2012 CDC analysis is found here.

In addition there is research demonstrating the efficacy of abstinence ed (here and here.)

It’s astonishing that lawmakers, many of whom are attorneys who should understand the importance of evidence, feel no compunction about voting for a bill following such a stupid floor “debate.” Since research is inconclusive at best, it seems utterly unwarranted to prohibit school districts from using abstinence-based curricula if that’s what they want to use.

To summarize, this bill will rob school districts of the right to choose the type (i.e., comprehensive vs. abstinence) of curriculum that the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce recommendedjust last year. And it will rob school districts of the right and freedom to choose the type of curriculum that myriad studies have demonstrated is at least as effective if not more effective than “comprehensive” sex ed curricula are at reducing the rate of teen pregnancies and STIs. Unbelievable.

This bill is now in the Illinois Senate.  Let’s hope the Senate floor debate proves more substantive than the fatuous House debate.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send an email or a fax to your state senator today to ask him/her to vote NO to HB 2675.

Click HERE to make a donation to the Illinois Family Institute.

Lawmakers in the Illinois House, most if not all knowing little or nothing about medicine or disease, may be voting to legalize so-called marijuana as “medicine” in Illinois on Wednesday.

This bill allows a “qualified” patient to have 2.5 ounces of marijuana every 14 days (183 joints, 13 per day).  Even the most experienced user smokes an average of three or four joints a day, potentially allowing the surplus to be sold on the streets. Moreover, “medical” marijuana laws normalize marijuana use, which significantly decreases the perception of harm especially among adolescents and teens.

“The key to it is medical access, because once you have hundreds of thousands of people using marijuana under medical supervision the whole scam is going to be bought. Once there’s medical access…then we will get full legalization.” ~Richard Cowan, former director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana.

Take ACTION: Click HERE to send your state representative an email or a fax to tell him/her that you do not want marijuana sold in your neighborhood for any purpose.  You can also contact your lawmakers through the Capitol switchboard at (217) 782-2000.

Andrea G. Barthwell, MD, FASAM, recently spoke to a large assembled group at Moraine Valley Community College at a conference on the consequences of marijuana as medicine.  She made it perfectly clear, smoked marijuana does not meet the standards of modern medicine. There is no scientific research on marijuana’s effectiveness as a medicine, interactions with other drugs, and impact on pre-existing conditions. There are no studies on marijuana that can be used to establish safe dosing levels, frequency and duration of administration, route, or method of administration for any medical condition.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) lists marijuana as a Schedule I drug because it has no accepted medical value and has a high potential for addiction. There is no scientifically documented benefit for the use of crude marijuana for any medical purpose. In fact, crude smoked marijuana has been rejected by major reputable national medical associations in the country including the American Medical Association, the American Ophthalmic Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the American Cancer Society.

Take a moment now to let your state representative know that you want him/her to vote NO to HB 1, the “medical” pot bill.

Read more:

Why Marijuana Legalization Would Compromise Public Health and Public Safety

Medical Marijuana Poses Critical Concerns to Prevention

Doctors Supporting FDA Process for Medical Marijuana

Christian Medical & Dental Association Letter to Lawmakers on HB 1

 Click HERE to make a donation to the Illinois Family Institute.

Much to the chagrin of Bible-believing Americans, President Barack Obama officially proclaimed June “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month” month.

In Chicago, as in many other big cities in America, pandering politicians and so-called “news” organizations quickly line up to show their approval and support for those who identify themselves by their sexual behavior. Specifically, they march in Chicago’s “Gay Pride” Parade. This year, the parade is scheduled for Sunday, June 27 at noon in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Please note the public officials and the government agencies that are participating in this event: each entry costs taxpayers $175 plus the costs of the float and displays.

Aside from the celebration of perverse sexual behavior and the blatant disregard for obscenity and decency laws, the most disturbing aspect of this yearly event is the presence of children, both as participants and spectators. This year, the Chicago Pride Parade lineup includes not one, but two Chicago Elementary Schools.

In the past, adults have attempted to shield children from accidental exposure to immoral behavior: things their minds are too young to comprehend. Protecting their innocence was a priority. But now adults are purposely exposing children to degenerate conduct and celebrations of sexual perversity.

Don’t expect Chicago’s media to blow the whistle. No, they will be too busy dancing on their official floats in the parade. The dominate media in Chicago (and elsewhere) have given up on the idea of neutrality when it comes to issues as important and contentious as homosexuality, the meaning of family and marriage, and traditional religion. They have taken the side of homosexual activists and will not dare to challenge parade organizers in fear of being called intolerant, or worse, a bigot.

The media has intentionally discarded any notion of journalistic integrity when it comes to the divisive issue of homosexuality and counterfeit marriage and have, in turn, become fierce advocates.

Here is the list of those participating in the 2010 Gay “Pride” Parade:

Politicians and Political Groups

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky

Gov. Patrick Quinn/staff
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (Candidate for U.S. Senate)

State Sen. President John Cullerton
State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg
State Sen. Heather Steans
State Sen. Harry Osterman

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz
State Rep. Greg Harris
State Rep. Deborah Mell
State Rep. David Miller (Candidate for Illinois Treasurer)

Mayor Richard Daley’s Advisory Council on LGBT Issues
Mayors Bicycle Ambassadors
Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney
Chicago Alderman Scott Waguespack
Chicago Alderman Helen Shiller
Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (Candidate for Cook County Pres.)
Chicago Alderman Joe Moore
Chicago Alderman Roberto Maldonado
Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart
Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown
Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore
Cook County Democrats
43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman Michele Smith

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Alliance of Illinois Judges

Candidate Joel Pollak (9th Congressional Dist.)
Candidate Scott Lee Cohen (Independent for Governor)
Candidate Ann Williams (11th Dist. State Rep.)
Candidate Robyn Gabel (18th Dist. State Rep.)
Candidate Don Nowotny (Alderman of Chicago’s 46th Ward)
Candidate James Cappleman (Alderman of Chicago’s 46th Ward)

Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois Green Party
ACLU of Illinois
Log Cabin Republicans
Planned Parenthood

Government Agencies

Chicago Police Superintendent Jody P. Weis
Chicago Commission/Human Relations
Nettelhorst School (Chicago Public Elementary School)
Chicago Waldorf School (Chicago Private Elementary School)
Chicago Public Library
Oak Park Pub. Library
Gerber Hart Library (Chicago Public Library)
CTA
Chicago Dept. Public Health
Amtrak
Illinois Lottery
Anti Cruelty Society

Sports Organizations

Chicago Cubs
Chicago Force Football

Media

Chicago Public Radio
ABC7 Chicago
WLEY-FM
WGN-TV
KISS-FM
WGN-AM
WXRT
JACK-FM
WCPT
WLIT-93.9
WCIU-TV
WBBM-FM/B96
Chicago Tribune’s RedEye Newspaper
Chicago Grab Magazine

Local Businesses

ComEd
BMW Sherreville
Grossinger Auto Group
Cricket Communications
Old Town School of Folk Music
Royal Service Realty
Threadless.com
Fields Infinity
Paninos Cafe
Bill Jacobs Volkswagen
Fletcher Jones Volkswagen
Windy City Movers
New Town Alano
Saugatuck
Chicago OUtfit
Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital
Alcala’s Western Wear
Mi Tierra Mexicana
Greenhouse Theater
Yoga Now
Nuns for Fun/Late Nite Catechism
Northside Toyota
Club Escape
Horizon Hospice
Campit Outdoor Resort
Chicago Apartment Finders
Brown Elephant
Chi-Town Squares
Standard Bank
John Baethke Plumbing
Maneuvers
Molitor Financial Group
Pretty Boy Enterprises
Animal Ark Vet Clinic
Fusion Radio Chicago
Evanston Subaru
Core Center
Le Passage
Pivot Point Academy
Broadway in Chicago
Sidetrack Nightclub
Barely Standing Rock Band
Hydrate Nightclub
Baton Show Lounge
Williams Inn
Jeffrey Pub
Miss Foozie
Resnick Auto
Robert Jeffrey Hair Salon
Folia Brasil
Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce
Chicago Smelts
Hunters Nightclub
Club Krave
Pop Goes the Gio
Chicago History Museum
Looking Glass Theatre
Bailiwick Theatre
Velvet Rope
Berlin Bar
PDQ Construction
After Dark
Marbles Brain Store

Corporations

United Way
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Holiday Inn Express
Orbits
Northrop Grumman
Google
MB Financial
Restoration Salon
Office Max
Astellas Pharma
Domicile Furniture
Chase Bank
Sears Holding
Bank of America
I-Go Car Share
Exelon Corp.
Frito-Lay
PepsiCo
LA Tan
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Caribou Coffee
Miller Lite
Sara Lee
KPMG
Wrigley Co.

Pro-gay Organizations

Anti-Defamation League
Civil Rights Agenda
Ride for AIDS
Tree House Humane Society
Fillipino Pride
Just Married
GayMatchChicago.com
Active Transportation Alliance
Ram/Leather/Cupid/Banana
Chicago Gender Society
New Town Alano Club
Spin Nightclub
Gay Liberation Network
Lambda Legal
Windy City Black LGBT Pride
Dignity Chicago
Human Rights Campaign
PFLAG
Dykes on Bikes
Equality Illinois
Chicago NOW

Schools & Professional Organizations

University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Illinois Bar Association
Indiana University GLBT Alumni
Unite Here
Chicago Boyz (University of Chicago)
Harrington College
Hoosier Honeys
Indiana University GLBT Alumni
Columbia College
ROTC Chicago
Roosevelt University
SEIU Council
Beta Gamma
Dartmouth Club
Harrington College

Religious Organizations

Chicago Theological Seminary
St. James Cathedral
Holy Convenant United Methodist Church
Countryside Unitarian Universalists
Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches
Congregation Or Chadash
Bodhi Spiritual Center
Night Ministry

Misc. 

Technosexual
TransAction
Mercy for Animals
Gay McHenry
Chicago Spirit Brigade
Howard Brown Health Center
Yelp.com
Asians & Friends Chicago
Windy City Cowboys
Chicago Prime Timers
Puerto Rican Cultural Center/VIDA SIDA
Howard Area Community Center
Join the Impact
Center on Halsted
Chicago Gay Hockey
Jane Addams Hull House