Abortion back in spotlight with advocates on both sides planning rallies in Springfield

Patrick Keck, State Journal-Register
·2 min read
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Jodie Williams of Springfield attends a Abortion-rights protest rally in front of the Springfield Federal Courthouse Friday June 24, 2022 held by "The Resistor Sisterhood" as a reaction to the overturning of Roe by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Jodie Williams of Springfield attends a Abortion-rights protest rally in front of the Springfield Federal Courthouse Friday June 24, 2022 held by "The Resistor Sisterhood" as a reaction to the overturning of Roe by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Anti-abortion and abortion access groups will take to the streets of Springfield on Tuesday, looking to meet with lawmakers to advocate their positions.

This year's Illinois March for Life will be the first since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision nearly 50 years after the original ruling. Illinois, almost overnight, became an island for abortion access with neighboring Midwestern states issuing bans or restricting access.

An influx of out-of-state patients prompted Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri to open a mobile abortion clinic serving southern Illinois. New reproductive health facilities also opened last year in Carbondale, Champaign and Rockford.

The issue was center stage in the lead-up to the 2022 election. Gov. JB Pritzker called for a special legislative session instead, lawmakers waited until the fall lame-duck session to pass legislation granting legal protections for healthcare professionals and out-of-state patients.

Related:Chillicothe man charged in fire at Planned Parenthood clinic: It was 'all worth it'

Here are the events scheduled on both sides of the abortion issue.

Tuesday's events

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield will host a 10 a.m. mass at the Sangamon Auditorium on the University of Illinois Springfield campus, led in service by Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki. Downtown, a Lutheran Matins service will start at 10:30 a.m. held at Trinity Lutheran Church on 220 South 2nd St.

Paprocki will later head to the Lincoln statue outside the statehouse for the rally and march scheduled to start at noon and 1 p.m. respectively. The bishop will join multiple anti-abortion advocates, including state Rep. William Rauter, R-Morton, as the event's speakers.

Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has said abortion remained a "preeminent priority" for Catholic voters in the Nov. 3 presidential election, a reflection of a letter U.S. Catholic bishops released last year.
Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has said abortion remained a "preeminent priority" for Catholic voters in the Nov. 3 presidential election, a reflection of a letter U.S. Catholic bishops released last year.

Speakers are expected to focus their remarks on legislative action taken by state lawmakers in recent years, most notably the removal of parental notification and the use of taxpayer dollars to support abortion services. The governor's budget proposal includes $18 million to IDPH to "support reproductive health initiatives."

General Assembly:Legal protections for abortion providers, seekers poised for Pritzker’s signature

Abortion access groups will convene at 11 a.m. further north on 2nd Street next to the Capitol grounds.

Illinoisans have access to abortion through the 2019 Reproductive Health Act, yet state abortion access groups are focused on a legal challenge filed by a coalition called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which is led by the conservative legal advocacy organization Alliance Defending Freedom. The challenge being heard by a federal judge in Texas could end the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.

The drug used with misoprostol account for the majority of abortions in the country. It could be pulled from shelves nationwide with a decision by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. Northern District of Texas.

Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: What to know about March for Life, pro-abortion rallies in Springfield