State Senator Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) released the following statement upon learning of the leaked first draft decision by the United States Supreme Court that would vacate the Roe. v. Wade decision of 1973.
“As a pro-life legislator, I am optimistic at the possibility of the United States Supreme Court vacating Roe v. Wade, giving the issue back to elected officials, where it belongs. I agree that the original decision was wrong from the beginning, and my heart breaks for the millions of lives ended by abortive procedures in the last 50 years. As a strong supporter of our independent court system, I am outraged that someone with a political motivation would disperse a draft, unconfirmed decision from the Supreme Court to the media to try to intimidate our Supreme Court Justices and stoke radical political elements into a frenzy in an attempt to change the court’s decision.
“The outrage on display by Illinois Democrats, led by Gov. JB Pritzker, is extremely rich and duplicitous. Illinois has laws on the books, passed by Democratic supermajorities and signed by our radical liberal Democratic governor, that would sadly ensure nothing would change in Illinois as a result of this possible decision. Illinois’ laws go even further than what Roe v. Wade required by allowing for taxpayer-funded and late-term abortions and removing parental notice on minor abortions.
“Democrats hold supermajorities in Illinois’ legislature, hold the House and Senate in Washington and control the Presidency. If they think abortion should be the law of the land in the United States, they should introduce a bill and get it passed and signed. That’s how this should work. That’s what the Supreme Court is saying in this draft decision that was leaked to create political pressure on the court. When Governor Pritzker wanted vaccine mandates for COVID-19, it was just fine to force the will of the court and the Executive branch on the people, but when the decision goes against what the campaign contributors at Planned Parenthood want, according to Democrats it is an outrage. Let’s not forget the fist-pounding, red-faced reactions displayed by far-left liberal Illinois Democrats today. Instead of respecting the sanctity of life, they’ve made this issue 100 percent political in an attempt to shift the attention of Illinoisans and Americans away from their failed policies on a host of issues that impact working families and simply a way for them to justify any new attempts to pass even more radical legislation here in Illinois.”