Realizing they were short of the votes needed for passage, the House leadership chose to send the bill back to the Rules Committee, which means that it is effectively dead for the year. We’ll continue to watch the House for any further developments—for example, a move to extend the deadline for this bill—but there seems little hope for HB6205 in 2010.

Thanks to all those who called, e-mailed and visited their State Representatives. Thanks to all who offered prayers or joined protests down in Springfield or at district offices across the state.

And a special thanks to our pro-life lobbyists: Ralph Rivera of Illinois Citizens for Life and Bob Gilligan of the Illinois Catholic Conference. Their tireless efforts down in Springfield and their wisdom and guidance for the whole pro-life community of Illinois made this victory possible. Well done, Ralph and Bob!

If you’re in the 50th District—or anywhere near—please join in this important protest today.

For more information, check out the Facebook Event for the protest. Let’s let Rep. Hatcher know where the people stand on this wicked, pro-abortion bill!

We’re already storming Springfield with our calls and visits, so now let’s storm the gates of Heaven with our prayers that this bill will never pass.

I invite you to join me in a “novena”—nine days of prayer and fasting—for that very intention. I’ve drawn up a simple prayer that each of us can pray each day:

Our Father in Heaven,

Thank you for the gift of my life, which began at the moment of my conception in my mother’s womb. Please have mercy on all who do not respect your gift of life, especially here in Illinois.

The lives of your unborn children are under greater threat right now in Illinois because of HB6205, the Reproductive Health and Access Act.

I join my prayers with those of others throughout Illinois that you do not allow HB6205 to be passed by the Illinois House of Representatives during this legislative term.

In your great kindness have mercy on our state and spare us from the scourge of this bill. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

We’re in the home stretch, now, and we need God’s help more than ever.

This bill, up for a vote in the Illinois General Assembly, concerns citizens for many reasons. The chief concern is that  HB 6205 will radically expand taxpayer funding for abortion and other “reproductive health care” services. HB 6205 will also rescind local control of sex education programs and mandate comprehensive sex education in high schools and elementary schools statewide.

“HB 6205 is not about freedom of choice, it is about using our tax dollars to pay for elective abortion and other services that many citizens contentiously object to. With our state in a dire financial crisis, it is wrong to even consider such a broad expansion of tax-payer funding of abortion,” said Maureen Deitche, a member of Girl’s Health First, who lives in Crespo’s district.

Rep. Fred Crespo is not co-sponsoring HB 6205 at this time, but will not commit to opposing the bill. Citizens are gathering at his district office for a peaceful prayer vigil, to encourage Crespo to make a commitment to oppose HB 6205.

Here is the testimony testimony I gave to the House Human Services Committee regarding this year’s Illinois FOCA bill. Read this testimony to become more acquainted with specifics on the key provisions of the bill. The two worst provisions are:

Radically expanded public funding of abortion, in-vitro ferilization, sterilization and other procedures

Under HB 6205, Illinois taxpayers would be forced to pay for abortions for all state employees, Medicaid recipients, people enrolled in All Kids, S-CHIP and any other state medical assistance program. At a time when our state is facing a $10 billion to $13 billion shortfall and can barely make its Medicaid payments on essential health care for the poor like dialysis and nursing care, special-interest groups are trying to create their own “bailout package.”

Mandatory comprehensive sex education for all Illinois public schools on the elementary and high school levels

While they say it would be “age appropriate,” anyone who looks at the national guidelines for comprehensive sex ed curricula published by SIECUS (the nation’s leading comprehensive sex ed advocacy group) would be shocked at the “Developmental Messages” for 5-8 year-olds.

Check out my testimony [PDF] to read more, but beware . . . this is not G-rated!

This bill, up for a vote in the Illinois General Assembly, concerns citizens for many reasons. The chief concern is that HB 6205 will radically expand taxpayer funding for abortion and other “reproductive health care” services. HB 6205 will also rescind local control of sex education programs and mandate comprehensive sex education in high schools and elementary schools statewide.

“HB 6205 is not about freedom of choice, it is about using our tax dollars to pay for elective abortion and other services that many citizens contentiously object to. With our state in a dire financial crisis, it is wrong to even consider such a broad expansion of tax-payer funding of abortion,” said Roy Pletsch, Ph.D., a retired principal who lives in Rep. Acevedo’s district and is a member of the McKinley Park Civic Association.

Rep. Eddie Acevedo was a co-sponsor of HB 2354, the 2009 version of the Reproductive Health and Access Act. Acevedo is not co-sponsoring HB 6205 at this time, but will not commit to opposing the bill. Citizens are gathering at his district office for a peaceful prayer vigil, to encourage Acevedo to make a commitment to oppose HB 6205.

Please join us tonight to let Rep. Acevedo know we want him to oppose HB 6205!

The Barbra Flynn Currie Special–Reproductive Health and Access Act–has been served into the Springfield legislative line up and made it back to the House Floor! Everyone already knows this much—that HB 6205 is now eligible for a full vote in the House, but in case you missed my play-by-play of the committee hearing (which you can still enjoy @nunrun), I was there…and here is what really happened:

A boisterous crowd was gathered in a 4th Floor room of the Stratton Office Building in Springfield by 8 AM. When the reps finally rolled in, Naomi Jacobson (committee chairwoman) called (dis)order, and the hearing ensued.

Chief Sponsor Rep. Currie Brings the Same Old Lies

Currie was the second rep at bat, and brought up her Blue Plate-er. The roll call on the bill was extensive . . . every pro-abort org you never heard of was somehow miraculously in the room. Yet, there was a good showing from the pro-lifers, too.

Currie had her family practice physician friend from the University of Chicago  give a Deja Vu performance (essentially same script from last year for HB 2364). Then they let the opposition ‘present,’ but not until pro-life warrior Patti Bellock grilled Currie, making sure everyone knew that tax money would be used to pay for abortions. But Currie very blithely reiterated more than once that it costs us tax payers far less to pay for an abortion than for a birth—talk about disturbing!

Pro-Lifers Give Powerful Testimony

Mary-Louise Kurey of the Archdiocese of Chicago Respect Life Office gave fantastic testimony, highlighting the tremendous financial burden this bill would impose on citizens, as well as the mandated comprehensive sex education, which falls very short of being age-appropriate (lets just say, they want to teach your 5 year old to do things you would never do).

Kurey was followed by Clark Forsythe of Americans United for Life, who gave pristine legal analysis of the bill. A young woman named Julie, an abstinence educator from Illinois, brought it full circle by concisely sharing the positive impact of abstinence education, which would be severely compromised if not obliterated by HB 6205.

Rep. Patti Bellock Pulls No Punches

Patti Bellock pulled through with some more questions that continued to ruffle Currie’s feathers. Then Currie and Jacobson played their inside baseball, putting Laura from the ACLU center stage to deliver her far from Shakespearean Soliloquy on just how wrong the “opposition” was on HB 6205. There was no room for response to several of her blatant lies.

Currie huffed and puffed, and blew the vote in. With 5-2 in favor of the bill (Bellock, 47th district, and Tim Schmitz, 49th district, were opposed to the bill), HB 6205 was sent back to the House floor for a second reading and is now up for a vote. NB, Sandy Cole, our pro-abort Catholic friend from the 62nd district, was out sick that day and unable to vote, but her sentiments were represented by Elizabeth Coulson from the 17th district, who voted in favor of HB 6205.

Are we shocked? Of course not. But now is not the time to sit back! Rally your friends, family and fellow citizens to contact their reps and tell them to vote NO on HB 6205. We need the same public outcry that defeated HB 2354 last season to come back and kill this bill before it ever reaches a vote. Together, by the grace of God, we can do it!!

Here’s an excerpt from his letter:

House Bill 6205 violates the conscientious objection of many citizens. In 1844, Abraham Lincoln broke with his own party, the often anti-Catholic Whigs, and proposed: “Resolved, that the guarantee of the rights of conscience, as found in our Constitution, is most sacred and inviolable, and one that belongs no less to the Catholic, than to the Protestant; and that all attempts to abridge or interfere with these rights, either of Catholic or Protestant, directly or indirectly, have our decided disapprobation, and shall ever have our most effective opposition.” Lincoln’s position is as valid today as it was last year and in 1844. The tax dollars of Catholics and many other conscientious people must not be used to subsidize the taking of innocent human life.

He ends with a plea for action:

Accordingly, I again ask you to make your voice heard in Springfield. Please contact your elected representatives this week and urge them to oppose House Bill 6205. If your representative indicates that they oppose the legislation please thank them.

To read the full text of the Cardinal’s letter click here.

I am grateful for the leadership showed by Cardinal George and I hope that many other religious leaders at the highest and the lowest levels will mobilize their flocks to save lives and protect human dignity.

If you are a leader in your church whether you lead the music, a Bible study or the whole congregation, please remember to contact your representative and then witness to your fellow Christians about the necessity for swift action. Click here for talking points.

**The Cardinal’s letter will be inserted in bulletins in churches in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Look for it and use it to start conversations with your fellow parishioners and move them to action.**