Governor signs hundreds of bills

But not the ‘deceptive practices’ act—yet

Springfield | Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law 240 of the 655 bills passed by the Illinois General Assembly in the spring legislative session, but not SB 1909, titled the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act. Unless it is vetoed by Pritzker within 60 days of passage, the bill governing advice given by pregnancy resource centers will become law. That includes GraceHaven Pregnancy Resource Clinic in Mt. Vernon, a pro-life ministry operated by the Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services.

SB 1909 passed the legislature June 9, meaning it will become law on August 8 unless Pritzker acts. It will require more than 100 such pro-life ministries to provide information about abortions to their clients. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to $50,000 for providing what abortion advocates deemed “deceptive” information.

Pro-life advocates say the legislation does not clearly define deceptive information or who would make that determination. They also say it unfairly targets religious speech in violation of the First and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution, because many centers are operated by religious organizations or charities.

The bill’s opponents are expected to file an injunction to stop it when it goes into effect. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a similar bill in California in 2018, declaring in NIFLA v. Becerra that the measure unfairly targeted pregnancy centers.