Lawyer For Anti-Abortion Medical Centers in Downers Grove Claims a New Amendment Will Strip Doctors' Freedom of Speech

An Illinois lawyer who’s representing several women’s health facilities in Downers Groveargued heavily last week against an amendment to state law that will require doctors who are against abortion to provide patients with information and referrals to doctors who would perform such procedures. The amendment is set to take effect Jan. 1.

“This is not just the removal of a shield, but (is) a sword,” Matt Bowman, who represents the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford, A Bella Baby OBGYN in Downers Grove, Best Care for Women in Downers Grove and Aid for Women in Downers Grove, said, according to the Rockford Register Star.

The Star reported Dec. 7 that the amendment to Senate Bill 1564, which would require “health care providers who specifically cite a conscious-based objection to abortion to have protocols in place for giving patients information about, or referrals to, other health care providers who will discuss or perform such medical services,” was signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner on July 29 of this year.

It’s important to note, however, that the amendment is only triggered if the patient asks specifically for the additional information on abortion services and options. Abortion is legal in Illinois.

Bowman is asking for a preliminary injunction that wouldn’t penalize all doctors and health care providers — not just the institutions above who sued Rauner recently — for expressing their opinions about pregnancy alternatives.

Bowman reportedly said in the Winnebago County courtroom last week that the new amendment “chills our speech,” and that there isn’t any evidence suggesting women have been harmed for not being provided with the information in the past.

He said the addition to the law violates the free speech rights of doctors who oppose abortion. In accordance with the language of the amendment, doctors who refuse to give patients information on abortion services or hand them a written list of other professionals who could help them are eligible for a $10,000 fine and the possibility of having their medical license taken away.

This wouldn’t be an automatic consequence, though — a patient would need to file a complaint with the health department before a clinic would be investigated or punished.

Judge Eugene Doherty, who presided over courtroom discussions last week, didn’t issue any decision, the Star reported.

“It deserves more attention than the time available to me,” he said.

The case’s next status hearing is set for Dec. 28.

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