(Daily Signal)—A new Illinois law prevents pro-life organizations from hiring based on their pro-life views, meaning they could be forced instead to hire abortion advocates whose views violate their core religious beliefs.
Now, a pro-life pregnancy resource center that wants to hire a nurse to counsel women facing unplanned pregnancies and a Catholic diocese are challenging the law in federal court as a First Amendment violation.
Attorneys from the Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom are representing The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford and the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against Illinois Department of Human Rights Director James Bennett and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. The complaint asks the court to block enforcement of the law.
The law in question, the Illinois Human Rights Act, was amended as of Jan. 1 to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s “reproductive health decisions,” including abortion, contraception, and fertility treatments. Under the new amendment, employers may not discipline or refuse to hire employees based on such reproductive health decisions and may not engage in “unwelcome” or “offensive” speech and conduct in the workplace regarding reproductive health care.
The law provides no religious exemption for pro-life organizations evaluating employees on reproductive matters. This is a violation of the organizations’ First Amendment rights of association, free exercise of religion, and free speech, according to Alliance Defending Freedom.
“Pro-life groups have a right to hire pro-life employees,” said Mark Lippelmann, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom. “It’s just absurd that the government could force an organization to hire someone who will flagrantly contradict its message.”
The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, which has served the community for over 100 years, is seeking someone to lead its pro-life office. The employee must promote the sanctity of human life and assist with education on reproductive issues in alignment with church teaching, according to the job posting.
“Our employees represent the diocese and are expected to uphold our standards of conduct to ensure they align with the doctrine and moral teaching of the Catholic Church,” Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said in a statement to The Daily Signal. “However, under the state law, we cannot hire or retain employees based on our deeply held religious beliefs on pro-life teachings without being subject to disciplinary action. We must have the freedom to follow and express our convictions without government interference.”
The legislative history of the bill shows pro-life organizations and pregnancy centers like The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford were always going to be in a position of conflict with the law, according to Lippelmann.
According to court documents, bill sponsor and Democrat state Sen. Laura Fine said during a legislative debate last year that religious pregnancy centers not formally affiliated with a particular denomination would “unfortunately not” qualify for any religious protections under the bill’s provisions.
Advocates of the bill at the time defended it as a necessary civil rights protection.
“My office is proud to continue to partner with Gov. [JB] Pritzker’s administration to draft legislation and identify new avenues to ensure Illinois is a safe haven for patients to access comprehensive abortion and gender-affirming care,” Illinois’ attorney general said in a press release in December. “I am committed to using the authority of my office to continue to defend against legal challenges to our laws that preserve Illinois as an oasis of reproductive health care.”
The Department of Human Rights and the Office of the Attorney General did not respond to The Daily Signal’s requests for comment.
At Last, a Company With Integrity in the Gold IRA Industry
For several years, I’ve been vetting out precious metals companies in search of the best. I believe in gold and silver but it’s hard to find integrity in the Gold IRA industry. The vast majority operate with shady tactics and gigantic spreads that take advantage of Americans who simply want to protect their life’s savings.
I’ve found a handful that I like and I’ve worked with some of them. By no means would I “unrecommend” them because, again, I vetted them out and found them to be above the fold. Unfortunately, it isn’t hard to be better than the rest when the rest are so darn awful.
After years of searching, I finally found a company that truly operates with integrity. Augusta Precious Metals has three important attributes that set them far above the competition:
- Non-Commissioned Sales Team: I cannot stress how important and unique this is. With just about every other company in the Gold IRA industry, the sales teams make commission from every account they open. This means they steer their clients toward the gold and silver products with the highest commission. With Augusta Precious Metals, the team is solely focused on putting the best gold and silver for their clients into their IRA. They get paid to serve the best interests of the Gold IRA client, NOT their own commission pay.
- Incredibly Low Fees: Most Americans would be shocked if they knew the spread other Gold IRA companies charge. Augusta charges just 5% versus up to 45% elsewhere.
- No Pressure, No Gimmicks: There’s an understanding among most in the Gold IRA industry that fear and pressure is the way to go. Augusta Precious Metals takes a sober approach when working with clients because they hold integrity in the highest possible regard. This is why they don’t offer gimmicks like “free” or “bonus” silver. It’s also why they do not apply pressure tactics to get quick sales. Their educational and transparent approach to doing business is exceedingly rare in the Gold IRA industry.
Senator Fine doesn’t seem so “fine” to me. If a pregnancy center has a religious belief that is pro-life it
seems she doesn’t want that center to exist. IThis a First Amendment issue. Surely seems that is the case.