Darren Bailey talks pro-life during Effingham visit

Sep. 10—EFFINGHAM — Abortion continues to be a major issue for Illinois Republicans like Darren Bailey ahead of the 2024 General Election.

Bailey visited Effingham this weekend as he prepares to face off against incumbent Mike Bost in the 2024 Republican Primary. Both seek to represent Illinois' 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bailey traveled to El Shaddai Homes in Effingham Sunday for the grand opening fundraiser of the new maternity home that will provide pregnant women and new mothers in need a safe place to stay.

Bailey led a prayer during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the maternity home during which he praised El Shaddai Homes for providing women in the area with an alternative to abortion.

"I was honored to be asked to be here because I think they know the pro-life stance. Respecting life and ending abortion is one of my top priorities," Bailey said in an interview following the ceremony Sunday.

He called the abortion issue "one of the largest problems we have as a nation and a state."

Bailey commented on Illinois becoming a sanctuary state for abortion in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year.

"It reflects what I believe is a terrible leader in J.B. Pritzker," he said. "There's wonderful things like this taking place and going on, but as a whole, why are we allowing Illinois to be a sanctuary state?"

Bailey blamed low voter turnout in the midterm election in 2022 as a contributing factor to his loss to Pritzker in the Illinois gubernatorial election.

"If 60% of registered voters would have voted in the last election, we could have won, but instead we had a 45% turnout," he said.

Bailey said it's his staunch opposition to abortion and funding for Planned Parenthood that sets him apart from Bost as a candidate, and he urged voters to consider Bost's voting record in Congress before making their final decision at the polls.

"My opponent the last eight years has voted in favor of the national budget," he said. "That national budget supplies Planned Parenthood with $500 million."

"If people simply take a long hard look at my opponent's voting record for the last nine years, they will discover very quickly why I am running and, first and foremost, the fact that he has not said a word about funding of Planned Parenthood."

Nick Taylor can be reached at nick.taylor@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300132.