As pro-abortion activists shed tears, Illinois Catholic leaders, GOP praise overturn of Roe
Kaitlyn Randolph of Washington, Missouri, told her abortion story for the first time Friday morning.
Randolph went through the process alone in 2020 without telling her family. She had a deformity that made it difficult for her body to pump blood for herself, “let alone sustain a pregnancy,” Randolph said at a news conference at the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis. Randolph, who was 26 at the time of her abortion, was later able to address her health issues and give birth to a healthy baby girl.
“Taking options away won’t solve the problem,” Randolph said.
Moments later, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it had struck down Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion in 1973.
Pro-abortion leaders in the room, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Cori Bush from St. Louis, broke into tears.
“This is health care. It’s like mental health. It’s like going to get the services for heart disease, for a tooth ache. This is health care,” Bush said, “and it’s nobody else’s decision. Forty-nine years.”
On the other side of the Mississippi River in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker made remarks in Chicago about the state’s intention to broaden protections for people seeking abortions. He called on the General Assembly for a special session expanding those rights.
“Let me make this explicit and clear to women throughout our state, the Midwest, and our nation: Illinois will be a safe haven for the exercise of your reproductive rights,” Pritzker said. “In Illinois, Roe v. Wade is still the law, and it will remain the law as long as we have a pro-choice legislature and a pro-choice governor.”
Anti-abortion officials and groups in Illinois rejoiced, and denounced the state’s role as a harbor for people seeking abortions.
State Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods said Pritzker will push for taxpayer dollars to “pay for out-of-state residents to travel to Illinois to receive abortions.”
“Let me be clear, Governor Pritzker and many Illinois Democrats want to push Illinois to the utter extreme on abortion policy,” McConchie said. “This is clearly not what mainstream Illinoisans want.”
Democrats in Illinois expressed concern about the Supreme Court’s potential to rollback other rights, including gay marriage and access to contraception. Justice Clarence Thomas said in his opinion the court “should reconsider” those issues.
“I share the pain, shock, and anger so many are feeling, and I am especially worried about further attacks on the rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color from this court,” said Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Rep. Robin Kelly. “However, Illinois Democrats will never relent in fighting back in the General Assembly, in the halls of Congress, or at the ballot box to protect the fundamental rights of all Americans.”
Bishop Michael McGovern of the Catholic Diocese in Belleville said the Supreme Court’s decision “gives fresh hope to Americans who wish to work to create a compassionate culture where every human being is welcomed in life, cherished in the community, and protected by law.”
“Because abortion law in Illinois continues to be among the most extreme in the nation, all Illinoisans must strive to assist women who are pregnant to welcome their children, even in the most difficult circumstances,” McGovern said. “By providing material, emotional and spiritual support, the Catholic Community in southern Illinois is committed to providing pregnant mothers with real choices, building bridges that will help women in crisis pregnancies reach a secure future for themselves and their children.”
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Catholic Diocese in Springfield said the Supreme Court’s decision lifts “a cloud that has hung over our country for nearly a half century.”
The Catholic Conference of Illinois, a group that lobbies on behalf of the Catholic Church in Illinois, said any woman “who is pregnant and in need can come to these ministries and they will provide the services and supports needed to help carry a baby to term and beyond.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, who is running for reelection in the 15th Congressional District, called the court’s decision “a joyous victory for life.” She credited former President Donald Trump with delivering “on his promise of a Court that would honor the Constitution and our sacred right to life.”
GOP U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, who faces Miller in the June 28 primary election in Illinois, said the overturn of Roe v. Wade was something he and others “in the pro-life movement have been praying for and working towards.”
“Our pro-life work continues. We must elect pro-life leaders at the federal, state and local levels to ensure we advance pro-life policies and protect the unborn,” Davis said. “Nowhere is this more important than the State of Illinois.”
State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, a Democrat from East St. Louis, said she is “prepared to defend the right to choose and all the civil rights and hard-won freedoms that extremists will target next.”
“Politicians and judges have no place in personal medical decisions. That must be solely up to women and their doctors. Today’s ruling disregards the principles of personal freedom so precious to us as a country, and it threatens so many more rights that generations fought so hard for,” Greenwood said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, a Republican from Murphysboro, said he would continue to fight against pro-abortion efforts.
“As liberals in Illinois and Washington undoubtedly push forward with their abortion on-demand agenda, I’ll keep fighting to protect the lives of the unborn,” Bost said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 3:31 PM.
