Governor Rauner signed the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act into law last week. The law ensures patients are notified of all their medical options, including abortion.
The law also specifies that physicians who are unwilling to perform or participate in abortions or sterilizations must provide a referral to another physician or medical center. It also requires physicians to provide patients with a list of providers who may offer such services if physicians cannot offer a referral, according to the report.
The suit was filed by officials at the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford, representatives from Chicago-based non-profit Aid for Women and Anthony Caruso, MD.
The lawsuit makes a variety of claims defending the institutions, including that the center’s religious beliefs prohibit physicians from referring a patient for abortion or transferring them to another institution. It also states that various other establishments may aid patients in their search, including “a library where patients can…ask to see a phone book [and] be allowed to look at the yellow pages” to find physicians and medical centers willing to perform the operation.
The lawsuit also claims the bill violates the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1998 and the Free Speech Protections of the Illinois Constitution by “forcing [physicians] to speak” about services that go against their own beliefs. The suit also claims the bill violates the Freedom of Religion and the Equal Protection Clause in the U.S. Constitution, according to the report.
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