North Cook News

Gov. Bruce Rauner committed the ultimate betrayal when he signed legislation recently to expand abortion coverage in Illinois, according to Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine). 

“Gov. Bruce Rauner gave us his word in the spring that he would veto this legislation if it were sent to him,” Morrison told he North Cook News. “If this legislation is really about the right to choose, then what about my constituents who deserve to have the right to choose not to have their tax dollars used to fund the killing of unborn children.”

House Bill 40 officially became law on Sept. 28, paving the way for Illinois residents on Medicaid or those working for the state to receive free abortions for any reason until the last day of their pregnancy. Previously, state law mandated that Medicaid recipients were eligible for abortions only in cases of rape, incest, health and life of the mother.

Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine)

"This is a tragic day for Illinois,” Morrison said. “There is no reason for taxpayers to have to pay for abortions, regardless of the reasons the abortion is being performed.”

Throughout his 2014 campaign run, Rauner pledged that he would "have no social agenda" if elected.

While Morrison and other legislators, like Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), see his decision as a betrayal of GOP voters who have supported him but are staunchly opposed to taxpayer-funded abortions, Rauner has argued that his position has never wavered because he has always supported abortion rights.

Ives has vowed that she will no longer be supporting Rauner’s 2018 re-election efforts, insisting that if his name appears on the ballot she will bypass it.

Rauner’s decision makes him the country’s first governor to sign off on taxpayer funding of abortions. Illinois Right to Life estimates the law will cost Illinois taxpayers approximately $1.8 million to fund.