Illinois is reportedly preparing to introduce an amendment that would add abortion and LGBT “rights” to the state constitution, potentially allowing minors to receive gender “transition” procedures without their parents’ consent.
Illinois Right to Life (IRL) President Mary Kate Zander stated in an emailed press release that IRL recently received several requested records from Gov. JB Pritzker’s office regarding the possible amendment. One of the shared documents reportedly included an email chain with the subject line “Memo Analyzing Ability to Submit to a Single Vote Proposed Constitutional Amendments Protecting Both Reproductive Freedom and LGBTQ Rights.”
“This email confirms what we have long suspected,” Zander stated in the release. “The Pritzker administration is exploring an amendment to the Illinois Constitution that will not only enshrine abortion rights, but also LGBTQ rights – which typically encompass ‘gender-affirming care’ and would force taxpayer funding of sex changes, as well as hormone blockers and sex change surgeries for minors without parental consent.”
As Zeale News previously reported, IRL filed a transparency complaint with the state attorney general in February after the governor’s office failed to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and release the requested records. According to Zander, IRL received the records just hours after it released a statement March 9 about its complaint.
IRL stated in the release that the timing of the proposed amendment is crucial. The state legislature has no deadline to introduce a change to the state constitution, but they must pass an amendment by a supermajority in both chambers by May 5 before it can be placed on the midterm ballot. As IRL stated earlier this month, if the amendment is introduced in the coming weeks, it “would leave only a short window for public debate on a significant constitutional change” before lawmakers vote.
Zander urged, “We cannot wait for an amendment to be formally introduced – we need to start fighting this constitutional amendment TODAY.”