News Release<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact: Tom Ciesielka, 312-422-1333, 312-403-1333 cell, tc@tcpr.net<\/a><\/p>\n SPRINGFIELD, Ill., May 4, 2015 \/Christian Newswire<\/a>\/ — A coalition of Illinois and national leaders focused on protecting women’s health and life are calling upon Illinois State Representatives to defeat Senate Bill 1564, which seeks to amend the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act. SB 1564 will dilute and undermine the current, federally compliant law as detailed in a bipartisan U.S. Congressional letter.<\/p>\n WHEN:<\/strong> Tuesday, May 5, 2015, 12 p.m. noon (CENTRAL)<\/p>\n WHAT:<\/strong> Illinois Women’s Health and Life Alliance press conference urging an Illinois House defeat of SB 1564.<\/p>\n WHERE:<\/strong> Blue Room, Illinois State Capitol Building, 401 S 2nd Street, Springfield, IL 62701; Map<\/a><\/p>\n ONLINE STREAMING:<\/strong> www.blueroomstream.com<\/a> (for subscribers)<\/p>\n Choose 05-05-2015 LIVE 12:00 p.m. Rep. Morrison Press Conference (SB 1564 Health Care Right of Conscience) Blue Room Springfield<\/p>\n WHO:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. Mary Keen, MD, president of the Chicago guild of the Catholic Medical Association, will discuss how SB 1564 tramples on doctors’ rights of conscience.<\/p>\n \u2022 Debbie Shultz, executive director of Lifetime Pregnancy Help Center in Springfield, will speak to why it is imperative that the rights of conscience of those working at pro-life pregnancy centers not be violated by SB 1564.<\/p>\n \u2022 Illinois House Representative Ron Sandack (R \u2013 Downers Grove) will explain why he is voting against SB 1564 and is encouraging his legislative peers to vote against it as well.<\/p>\n \u2022 Attorney Anna Paprocki, staff counsel at Americans United for Life, will address SB 1564’s devastating legal implications for Illinois.<\/p>\n WHY:<\/strong> Illinois Women’s Health and Life Alliance is urging an Illinois House defeat of SB 1564 because\u2026<\/p>\n Doctors’ rights of conscience are trampled on. SB 1564 would require doctors to facilitate abortions for any reason, and at any stage of pregnancy, despite their conscientious and professional objections. Illinois’ existing conscience law already ensures patient safety is not compromised by clarifying that a physician is not relieved from a duty to “inform his or her patient of the patient’s condition, prognosis, and risks\u2026” The current law also clearly provides that healthcare personnel are not relieved from “obligations under the law of providing emergency medical care.”<\/p>\n Dr. Mary Keen, MD<\/a>, will speak to this issue. Keen is the medical director of Pediatric Rehabilitation at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital, clinical associate professor at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and attending physician in the Departments of Pediatrics and Orthopedic Surgery Section of Rehabilitation Medicine. Keen is also president of the Chicago guild of the Catholic Medical Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n The rights of those working at pro-life pregnancy centers are trampled on. SB 1564 would require pregnancy center workers to violate their core mission by referring women for abortions or distributing information on where to obtain abortions. Pregnancy centers that exist to offer women alternatives to abortions are healthcare providers bound by the bill’s coercive duties to promote abortions. SB 1564 would force pregnancy centers to discuss the so-called “benefits” of abortions and provide information on where to obtain abortions.<\/p>\n Debbie Shultz, executive director of Lifetime Pregnancy Help Center in Springfield, will speak to why it is imperative that the rights of conscience of those working at pro-life pregnancy centers not be violated by SB 1564.<\/p>\n Illinois becomes rife with new legal liabilities. SB 1564 jeopardizes Illinois’ federal funding including, but not limited to, the federal share of Medicaid. It violates longstanding federal conscience laws, including the Church Amendment, the Coats-Snowe Amendment, and the Hyde-Weldon Amendment. SB 1564’s requirements that healthcare providers “provide in writing information,” “transfer,” or “refer” patients for treatments to which they object, are incompatible with these federal laws. Violating these laws would seriously imperil the state’s federal funding for health-related services, which is expressly conditioned on compliance with these federal conscience laws.<\/p>\n Attorney Anna Paprocki<\/a> will speak to this issue. Paprocki is staff counsel at Americans United for Life and a resident of Illinois. She has been interviewed about rights of conscience in a variety of news sources including National Review Online, Politico, Washington Times, Touchstone Magazine, World Magazine, National Catholic Register, Fox News, CBN, ABC News, CBS News, and NPR.<\/p>\n Illinois House Representative Ron Sandack<\/a> (R \u2013 Downers Grove) will also address the media to emphasize why SB 1564 is a bad choice for Illinois.<\/p>\n Illinois Women’s Health and Life Alliance represents the following Illinois citizen organizations, physicians, and medical pregnancy center organizations, and national physician and pregnancy center organizations with Illinois members:<\/p>\n \u2022 Illinois Citizens for Life<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Illinois Family Institute<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Illinois Federation for Right to Life<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Illinois Right to Life<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Family PAC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Lake County Right to Life<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. Anthony J. Caruso, MD MPH, Downers Grove OB\/GYN<\/a>,<\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. L. Carl Jurgens, MD, OB Hospitalist, Rockford Health Physicians<\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. Mary Keen, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Loyola University Medical Center<\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. Robert C. Lawler, MD, Downers Grove OB\/GYN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. Richard G. Moutvic, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology<\/p>\n \u2022 Dr. Joseph J. Kash, MD, Medical Director, Waterleaf<\/a>, Edward Cancer Center<\/p>\n \u2022 Aid for Women<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Woman’s Choice Services<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Waterleaf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Informed Choices<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Relevant Pregnancy Resource Center<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 The Women’s Centers of Greater Chicagoland, Ltd.<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Freeport Pregnancy Center<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Pregnancy Resource Center<\/p>\n \u2022 We Care Pregnancy Clinic<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Options Now Medical Pregnancy Center<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Lifetime Pregnancy Resource Center<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Community Hope Center<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Life Network of Southern Illinois<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Alliance Defending Freedom<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Americans United for Life<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Care Net<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Heartbeat International<\/a>, www.HeartbeatInternational.org<\/a><\/p>\n ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 The text of SB 1546<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Bi-partisan U.S. Congressional letter outlining how Illinois SB 1564 violates federal funding<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Analysis of the bill by staff counsel Anna Paprocki of Americans United for Life<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Letter from Pregnancy Resource Centers and OB\/GYNs against SB 1564<\/a><\/p>\n