North Cook News

Laura Vandercar struggles to find the logic in so many Democratic politicians supporting a policy that no one really sees as a good thing.

“I think we can all agree that no one wants to pay for an abortion,” the NorthWest Families for Life co-founder told the North Cook News regarding the General Assembly's passage of HB 40, which would allow Medicaid recipients and state employees to use taxpayer dollars for elective abortion services.

Reps. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) and Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg) voted in favor of the bill, but if their votes were meant to help come election time, Vandercar said they were misguided.

“I have no idea why Dems still think this is a good idea,” Vandercar said. “The polls don’t show great support, and more and more of the youths of today are against it."

The measure, which also would remove language mandating that an unborn child is legally considered a human being, is headed to Gov. Bruce Rauner, who has vowed to veto it because of the cost involved.

“The message that we're sending to poor people is we’d rather a child die than to have to take care of it,” Vandercar said. “To think that the state is contemplating spending more money in this way is unconscionable.”

If the bill becomes law, early estimates suggest taxpayers will be on the hook for an additional $60 million. Rauner has said such a cost can't be considered when the state has unpaid debts in the billions and no budget in place.

Vandercar also finds some solace in the fact that a growing segment of society seems to agree with her stance. A series of recent public opinion polls found that most Americans are strongly opposed to publicly funded abortions, including a Marist Institute survey in which 61 percent of respondents said they are against it, including 40 percent of whom identified as pro-choice.

HB40 was introduced by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), who has said her actions were at least partly motivated by what’s happening at the federal level.

"After repeated threats from the White House and President Trump's remarks to strip abortion rights away from women, this legislation was necessary to safeguard a woman's right to make decisions that affect her personal health in Illinois," she said.