Pritzker To Call Special Session After Friday's Supreme Court Ruling Overturning Roe V. Wade

By Kevin Bessler, The Center Square:

Reaction is pouring in around Illinois following Friday’s U. S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In a 6-3 decision, the court struck down the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. in 1973. The court’s controversial but expected ruling gives individual states the power to set their own abortions laws.

“Let me make this explicit and clear to women throughout our state, throughout the Midwest and our nation, Illinois will be a safe haven for the exercise of your reproductive rights,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during a news conference Friday.

Pritzker last year signed legislation establishing abortion as a fundamental right for women in Illinois in the event Roe v. Wade was struck down. He said he plans to call a special session of the General Assembly to further protect abortion rights in Illinois.

State Rep. Mark Batinik, R-Plainfield, said he doesn’t see the point of why Pritzker needs to call for a special session because the Supreme Court ruling changes nothing in Illinois.

“In Illinois we have the most extreme pro-abortion laws in the nation,” Batinik said. “A minor child can get an abortion with taxpayer funds without even telling her parents.”

Batinik said Pritzker should instead be focusing on the issues that Illinoisans are more concerned about, such as inflation, gas taxes and corruption.

Other lawmakers issued statements regarding the high court’s decision.

“Today our nation is taking an enormous step backward but, regardless of what any conservative judges say, in Illinois we will never waver in our fight to ensure every person has the right to safe, accessible reproductive care,” House Speaker Chris Welch said.

“Governor Pritzker and many Illinois Democrats want to push Illinois to the utter extreme on abortion policy. Right now, Illinoisans can already get an abortion in all nine months of pregnancy for any reason and use taxpayer dollars to pay for it. But that's not enough. Now, they want us to help pay for out-of-state residents to travel to Illinois to receive abortions and even allow non-physicians here to perform them,” Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, said. “This is clearly not what mainstream Illinoisans want.”

Almost half the states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion as a result of the Supreme Court decision.

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