Prairie State Wire

Illinois Right to Life has issued the following press release:

On Friday, May 7, Personal PAC released the results of a biased Public Policy Polling push poll that specifically and deliberately perpetuates false information about Illinois’ Parental Notification of Abortion (PNA) Act, yet still shows a majority of voters do not support repeal.

The commonsense safeguards present in the PNA Act are supported by a strong majority of Illinois voters, contrary to Personal PAC’s spin. The broad support for PNA should give legislators pause as they consider the drastic step of repealing or altering these safeguards.

Amy Gehrke, spokesperson for Illinois Right to Life Action, stated, “Parental Notification of Abortion is a sensible law supported by a majority of Illinois voters. A March 2021 Tarrance Group poll, which asked factually correct questions based on the actual law, found that 72% of Illinois voters are in favor of Illinois’ PNA Act. That number jumps to 76% among people of color. A full 58% of voters who identify as ‘pro-choice’ also support the PNA Act when they have all the facts of what the PNA Act actually says.”

Even with the biased questions in Personal PAC’s push poll, a majority of voters still do not support repealing parental notification, which highlights the unpopularity of repeal.

“Voters overwhelmingly support parental notice. Legislators should be very concerned about the electoral consequences of repealing this popular safeguard,” said Gehrke.

Illinois’ PNA Act requires that an abortion facility notify the parent or guardian of a minor girl 48 hours prior to her having an abortion. Should the girl come from an abusive home or have other compelling reasons not to notify her parents or guardians, a judicial waiver may be granted, and the abortion facility is not required to notify anyone.

The questions about the PNA Act that were asked of respondents to the poll, which was commissioned by Personal PAC, and released on Friday, May 7, 2021, were designed to perpetuate the blatant lie being peddled by many abortion extremists in the state: that minor girls, as opposed to the abortion clinics, must notify their parents prior to their abortions. In reality, the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act states:

“No person shall knowingly perform an abortion upon a minor or upon an incompetent person unless the physician or his or her agent has given at least 48 hours actual notice to an adult family member of the pregnant minor…” (emphasis added)

Furthermore, the poll questions implied that minor girls from abusive or dysfunctional homes had no other choice but to inform their parents or guardians of their impending abortions. This is false and incorrect, as the judicial bypass option is available to young girls in these heartbreaking situations.

Illinois Right to Life is the state's oldest and largest pro-life organization. We seek to protect those threated by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia through education and direct aid.