Pro-life pregnancy centers in Illinois can continue their life-affirming work after the state’s attorney general agreed to a permanent injunction that would permanently block a law enacted to restrict the speech of pro-life pregnancy centers.
In July, Attorney General Kwame Raoul signed SB1909—known as the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act—into law.
The law barred crisis pregnancy centers from using so-called “misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation in order to interfere with access to abortion services or emergency contraception.” Opponents of the law contend it specifically targeted pro-life clinics, attempting to impugn their behavior and stifle their efforts to help women make an informed decision.
The law allowed the Illinois Attorney General to investigate complaints against centers and prosecute them if they were accused of “consumer fraud.”
“Women need access to comprehensive, fact-based healthcare when making critical decisions about their own health—not manipulation or misinformation from politically motivated, non-medical actors,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker at that time. “By empowering the Attorney General’s office to battle deceptive practices, we’re ensuring Illinoisans can make their own decisions about their bodies using accurate and safe information.”
In July, the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, sued Raoul over the law.
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