Fighting Taxpayer-Funded Abortion in Illinois

Opponents of an Illinois law that would allow state funding of abortion on demand for state employees and Medicaid recipients have filed suit.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the law, known as HB 40, earlier this year, and the Thomas More Society filed suit last week on behalf of 10 pro-life organizations, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, and eight state legislators filing as taxpayers. The suit, a request to “restrain and enjoin” a misuse of tax dollars, points out Illinois cannot afford the abortions it has promised to cover.

Pro-life experts told me they were watching the lawsuit closely because the outcome could have national implications.

Illinois has a balanced-budget requirement but already violated that this year by overspending $1.7 billion, Thomas More Society attorney Peter Breen told me.

“Into that scenario, you add an additional mandate that is likely to cost the state tens of millions of dollars,” Breen said. “There’s no money available for these new services.” The Thomas More Society estimates state taxpayers could be on the hook for up to 30,000 abortions, which could cost close to $30 million.

The state legislature passed the bill after the year’s budget was already approved, so lawmakers did not allocate any funds to carry out the measure. The suit argues the law shouldn’t go into effect until June 1, 2018, rather than the…