A federal judge has blocked a new Illinois law that hurts crisis pregnancy centers in the state, saying that it violates the First Amendment.
The bill, signed into law last week by Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), allows the state’s attorney general to investigate a case of alleged consumer fraud against crisis pregnancy centers accused of deceptive practices.
However, those opposed claim the law has raised concerns that it would be used to target pro-life centers that suggest an association between abortion and breast cancer or infertility.
“The bill is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment,” U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston said last week.
“There’s no doubt who the Attorney General wants to win or lose in the market place of ideas, but the government doesn’t get to decide that,” Johnston added. “The people do.”
From The Daily Wire:
Almost immediately after the law was enacted, the Thomas More Society, a conservative law firm that fights in defense of religious liberty and free speech, filed a suit challenging the law. “Free Speech won today in the Land of Lincoln — pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” Peter Breen, the executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, said after the judge’s ruling.
