Abortion advocates lambasted Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner at a Tuesday press conference after he failed to sign a pledge indicating that he will uphold and protect a law mandating Illinois taxpayers fund abortion.
The Illinois governor signed House Bill 40 in September 2017, mandating the state provide abortion coverage for Illinois residents and state employees via Medicaid. The state estimates it costs $1.8 million annually to pay for abortion coverage. The law took effect Jan. 1. (RELATED: Illinois State-Funded Abortions Increase Nearly 300 Percent In 2018)
“The truth is, if re-elected, Gov. Rauner has proven he can’t be trusted to protect legal abortion in Illinois, unless the voters of Illinois have a written promise that if re-elected he won’t do anything to repeal, diminish or amend HB 40,” Personal PAC President Terry Cosgrove said, according to The Illinois News Network.
Personal Pac dedicates itself to “protecting and advancing reproductive rights for all women by recruiting, electing, and holding accountable pro-choice candidates to state and local office in Illinois,” according to its website.
Rauner responded to Personal PAC’s criticism, noting that while he did not sign the pledge he signed the bill into law. “I signed legislation here in the state of Illinois so that womens’ reproductive rights are protected regardless of what happens at the federal level,” he said, The Illinois News Network reports.
Since House Bill 40 passed, taxpayers in Illinois have paid for almost quadruple the number of abortions than they did previously. The number of out-of-state women coming to Illinois and receiving abortions has also risen.
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