Chicago-Based Thomas More Society Intervenes to Defend Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act
CHICAGO, Oct. 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today, the Thomas More Society filed a petition to intervene, on behalf of three Illinois state's attorneys, in Cook County Circuit Court to defend the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) recently brought suit in Illinois state court to enjoin or block the Act, after the ACLU lost its bid in federal court earlier this year to stop the Act from going into effect.
State's Attorneys Stewart Umholtz of Tazewell County, Edward Deters of Effingham County, and Raymond Cavanaugh of Henderson County are seeking to intervene in order to have the case dismissed. The petition is expected to be heard at 2:00 p.m., Monday, November 2, 2009, along with the ACLU's motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the Parental Notice of Abortion Act. Thomas More Society attorneys will be available for comment after the hearing.
"At some point, the ACLU will realize that Illinois law, just like the law in 36 other states, provides parents the right to know before their underage daughters are taken for abortions," said Peter Breen, Executive Director & Legal Counsel for the Society. "Until that time, we will defend against the ACLU's continued attempts to thwart the will of Illinois voters, the large majority of whom support parental notice before an abortion."
The suit brought in Illinois court by the ACLU did not name Illinois state's attorneys, as had been done in the earlier federal case. The Thomas More Society's filing asserts that the ACLU's case is barred because of the earlier loss in the federal courts. The Society also asserts that the Illinois Constitution of 1970 did not include a right to abortion, based on the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention. Also, abortion remained illegal in Illinois, under almost all circumstances, after the 1970 Illinois Constitution went into effect and up until the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, which was based only on the U.S. Constitution.
About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a public interest law firm that counsels and defends those who work to protect innocent human life, defends those who proclaim faith-based values in our nation's public square, and strives to protect the institution of marriage as a union of man and woman formed to beget, bear and nurture new human lives. For more information, please visit: www.thomasmoresociety.org.
