A new law allowing Illinoisans to sue so-called crisis pregnancy centers under the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is on hold.
After a lengthy hearing in his Rockford courtroom, Judge Iain Johnston issued a brief oral ruling on Thursday evening, saying the law violated the First Amendment. But the judge indicated filing a formal written decision would take until late Friday afternoon.the law last week. The measure expands Illinois’ longstanding consumer fraud law to explicitly include crisis pregnancy centers, which abortion rights advocates say often employ aggressive tactics to confuse those seeking abortion care.
The law was part of an ongoing expansion of abortion rights in Illinois as surrounding states have restricted access to the procedure in the 13 months since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood of Illinois CEO Jennifer Welch on Friday said she was frustrated with Johnston’s injunction.
But proponents of the law say CPCs’ efforts to prevent abortions sometimes include tactics meant to confuse abortion seekers and dissuade them from going through with an abortion. Those include locating facilities near real abortion clinics, giving false information about the risks of abortions and attempting to physically divert the clients of real abortion providers as they arrive for their appointment.
“You’re not free to lie to people and to use deceptive practices and to sometimes take people away from where they were intending to go,” Raoul said. “There’s nothing in the First Amendment that protects that type of action.”
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