Federal judge blocks Illinois pregnancy center law, calls state's motion to delay 'meritless'

A federal court has temporality blocked a measure that grants the Illinois Attorney General's office the power to shut down limited-service pregnancy centers while the case continues.

Thursday's preliminary injunction against the measure comes days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1909. The measure prohibits "limited pregnancy centers" from engaging in conduct the Illinois Attorney General's office deems are unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

In response to the bill signing, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates filed a lawsuit in the state's Northern District federal court seeking a temporary restraining order to block the law.

The judge denied the state's motion to delay a response, saying their arguments were "meritless on many levels" and to "be there" at the next hearing. "The lawsuit should not come as a surprise to Defendant," Judge Iain D. Johnston wrote in a docket entry.

Announcing the judge's preliminary injunction, Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of Litigation for the Thomas More Society, said the ruling is a victory for crisis pregnancy centers.

“Free Speech won today in the Land of Lincoln – pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” Breen said in a statement. “Across the nation, pregnancy help ministries are being discriminated against by laws that target their life-affirming work. The injunction granted [Thursday] sends a strong, clear message to the country that the First Amendment protects pro-life speech.”

At an unrelated bill signing Friday, Pritzker said the law is in place to protect those who are seeking reproductive care.

"These organizations are allowed to communicate to people who are on their way, but they are not allowed to deceive them according to this law, and I hope that the federal courts will recognize that," Pritzker said. "You can't lie to misinform people and send them in a direction that their not fully aware that you are changing the direction of what they are trying to accomplish."

Before Thursday's decision, Breen discussed their position with The Center Square.

"The primary reason for this lawsuit is number one, the government cannot regulate what is true or false on a significant issue of public debate. Number two, you can't target people based on their viewpoint. So right here it was the viewpoint of these centers. And then number three, where the viewpoint is a religious view, that's even worse," Breen said. "So you got three principle violations of the First Amendment."

The Illinois Attorney General's office said they are waiting on the court's written decision before they comment on the case.

Raoul had been summoned to appear before the court Aug. 21.

State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dietrich, said if the measure is not completely stopped, state residents risk losing their rights.

"It is about using the power of government to target people who do not share the radical leftist views of our state's leaders," Niemerg said. "It is a dark and dangerous bill that will completely change not just Illinois but the entire country if it is allowed to stand because if this new law is not struck down, we will no longer have the freedom of speech in this country."