Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Freedom Caucus recently celebrated a significant victory for pro-life ministries in the state, following the U.S. District Court’s issuance of a permanent injunction against Senate Bill 1909 (SB 1909). The bill, which was criticized as an unconstitutional overreach, granted the Illinois Attorney General expansive powers to target crisis pregnancy centers. This sparked concerns about potential violations of First Amendment rights and the right to life.

“The Injunction preventing this Orwellian law from ever being enforced in Illinois is welcome news,” the Illinois Freedom Caucus said on Facebook. “Our Constitution grants everyone the right to free speech.”

“Women seeking help from a crisis pregnancy center are doing so by choice. No one is forced to ever walk into a crisis pregnancy center. The authoritarians on the left may not like what these centers represent, but our Constitution gives them the right to exist.”

“This is a tremendous victory for the sanctity of human life and for the freedom of speech, but it also should serve as a reminder of where our country is headed. The extremists in the Democratic Party are not interested in a free, fair, and honest debate of ideas. They want to use the power of government to silence their political opponents.”

“The entire reason we have a Bill of Rights is to prevent the government from doing the kind of thing our woke overlords in Springfield tried to do with Senate Bill 1909. This injunction is an important victory, but we must be vigilant in pushing back on the totalitarian agenda of the radical left, which is exactly what the Illinois Freedom Caucus has and will continue to do.”

The Illinois Freedom Caucus’s comments come after a permanent Injunction against S.B. 1909 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The law in question, which was viewed by many as an unconstitutional overreach, had granted the Illinois Attorney General extraordinary powers to target crisis pregnancy centers. Critics argued that it posed a threat to the First Amendment rights of these centers and undermined the fundamental principles of free speech and the right to life.

“The left’s hypocrisy is evident. They preach choice but only endorse one - abortion. J.B. Pritzker and the Democrats in Springfield are the extremists on this issue, and we need to make that clear,” Bailey said of the ruling.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul yielded to legal pressure, agreeing to a permanent injunction against SB 1909. The law, branding pro-life speech as consumer fraud and limiting information sharing about abortion risks, faced controversy. The Thomas More Society, representing pro-life groups, collaborated with the Attorney General in the U.S. District Court to halt SB 1909 enforcement. This court decision, celebrated as a win for pro-life ministries and free speech, sends a cautionary message to other states considering comparable laws against pro-life perspectives.

“The federal court was spot on in holding that SB 1909 is ’both stupid and very likely unconstitutional,’” Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, said in a press release.

“SB 1909 exempts abortion facilities and their speech, while exclusively regulating pro-life organizations and their speech, in flagrant violation of the First Amendment. This law is just one of a number of illegal new laws enacted across the country that restrict pro-life speech—we hope this permanent injunction, with full attorney’s fees, serves as a warning to other states that would seek to follow Illinois and try to silence pro-life viewpoints. We are honored to represent NIFLA and other life-affirming organizations to protect them from unjust laws like SB 1909 that seek to put a halt to their good work.” 

The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of  State Representatives Chris Miller (R-Oakland), David Friess (R-Red Bud), Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich), Jed Davis (R-Newark), Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) and Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur).