ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Crisis pregnancy centers in northern Illinois have filed a federal lawsuit saying their employees’ freedom of speech and religious rights will be violated if the state forces them to give patients information about abortion services.
The lawsuit against Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and Bryan A. Schneider, secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, was filed Thursday, Sept. 29, reports the Rockford Register Star.
It was filed on behalf of Tri-County Crisis Pregnancy Center, The Life Center Inc., Mosaic Pregnancy & Health Centers, Dr. Tina Gingrich of the Maryville Women’s Center, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates.
The lawsuit says the centers are religious, anti-abortion organizations. It says an Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act amendment, which goes into effect Jan. 1, requires them to share procedure locations to women inquiring about abortion.
