Action Alert: Veto Session 2021 Continues THIS Week

Written by David E. Smith

During the weeks of October 19-21 and 26-28, Illinois state lawmakers will be headed back to Springfield for the annual “Veto Session.”

Using his social media account to circumvent the liberal media, Illinois State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) recently posted a video update on Facebook to warn his constituents about the corrupt priorities that the Democratic majority has on the docket for these six days of Veto Session. Of these, we are specifically concerned about the following:

1.) Repeal of the Parental Notification of Abortion Act

2.) The watering down or repeal of the 1998 Health Care Right of Conscience Act

3.) Repeal Police Qualified Immunity

Rep. Caulkins covers all this in a little more than 3 minutes:

Parental Notice of Abortion

For the Illinois Family Institute, the issues of the sanctity of life and parental rights is priority number one. We know that abortion cheerleaders at Planned Parenthood are pushing hard to repeal parental rights by eliminating Illinois’ last major abortion restriction–the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. This law has helped to prevent the deaths of thousands of pre-born babies, and Big Abortion doesn’t like that one bit. With this law repealed, they know their abortion profits will increase.

Abortion activists are using the Texas Heartbeat Law to animate their base. State legislators in eight other states have introduced their own versions of the Texas law. Left-wing zealots don’t want to let this leftist-identified “crisis” go to waste. That is why they organized abortion rallies in cities across the nation on October 2nd. That is why they are pushing to make Illinois the most restriction-free state in the nation, calling their unholy effort “justice.”

Take ACTION: Please make sure our state lawmakers hear from conservatives on this life-and-death policy. I hope and pray that pro-life citizens will respond overwhelmingly to counter the pressure from abortion extremists and prevent them from getting the 60 votes they need in the Illinois House and the 30 votes they need in the Illinois Senate. Click HERE to contact your state lawmakers to let them know that most Illinois parents oppose repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion Act.

Health Care Right of Conscience Act

According to various news reports, Governor J.B. Pritzker is intent on amending or repealing the 1998 state law that protects a persons’ decision to participate in any way or in any particular form of healthcare services contrary to his or her conscience. This law has been used by health care workers, educators and other state/federal employees in response to state and federal mandates regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

This law protecting our individual freedom of conscience is evidently getting in the way of the tyrannical goals of Pritzker. So it has to be “fixed.” Unbelievably, the ACLU of Illinois agrees with the billionaire governor. According to this report, the ACLU thinks that conscience rights should only be reserved for health care workers:

Ameri Klafeta, of the ACLU of Illinois, said people are abusing the 1998 law and using it in a way that was not intended.

“The cases that have been brought under this law have always involved health care professionals,” Klafeta said. “This was never a law for individual citizens.”

The Health Right of Conscience Act was intended to help healthcare workers who had religious beliefs regarding certain procedures, Klafeta said.

“Where you would see this law invoked is a situation where a doctor or a nurse has a religious exemption to providing abortion care or birth control or something of that nature,” Klafeta said.

MORE ACTION: Please call your state senator and state representative to ask them to protect freedom of conscience rights for all Illinois residents. The Capitol switchboard number is (217) 782-2000.

Repeal Police Qualified Immunity

Anti-police sentiment remains very high among Springfield Democrats. Earlier this year State Representatives Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago) and Kambium Buckner (D-Chicago) introduced legislation called the “Bad Apples in Law Enforcement Accountability Act of 2021” (HB 1727). If passed, this proposal would allow citizens to sue police officers for depriving “any individual rights guaranteed under the Illinois constitution.” Officers who fail to intervene on behalf of citizens who are being abused can also face civil liability.

We have already seen what happens when police officers intentionally become more reserved in their law enforcement duties. Crime, including murder, has spiked. Who can blame them for not sticking their necks out? The defund and anti-police rhetoric has been inexcusably one-sided. The “news” media portrayal has been even worse. Why would we expect modestly paid public servants to go out of their way and put their lives and reputations on the line for our well-being when weak-kneed politicians give into the BLM and Antifa mob?

We already have problems with retaining and recruiting police officers to serve our communities. Repealing this state law would make it easier to personally sue police officers and therefore make it much more difficult to provide and maintain a sufficient police force in our communities. Public safety will suffer.

MORE ACTION: Please call your state senator and state representative to ask them to vote AGAINST the “Bad Apples in Law Enforcement Accountability Act of 2021.” The Capitol switchboard number is (217) 782-2000.