South Central Reporter

Senate Bill 1909 was a controversial bill that prohibited a pregnancy crisis center from using deceptive practices to entice individuals to avoid abortion clinics. In an Aug. 3 Facebook post, Rep. David Friess cheered a ruling by U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston, who said the bill violated the first amendment.

"I am proud to stand with my fellow House Republicans in their resolute opposition to SB1909, which we have consistently contended infringes upon our Constitutional right to free speech, " Ian Johnston, U.S. District Judge, said.

"The remarks made by US District Judge Johnston aptly highlight the alarming violation of the First Amendment that this bill represents.

"It is crucial to recognize that crisis pregnancy centers play a vital role in assisting women and serving as an invaluable resource,"  Friess said.

Rep. David Friess is a resident of Red Bud, Ill., and has lived in Illinois for most of his life. He was an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, and later for Delta Airlines in Atlanta, Georgia. He represents the people of the 115th District.

On Aug. 3, Fox News reported that U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston ruled in favor of anti-abortion groups that challenged Senate Bill 1909, which was passed by the House and Senate on June 9. According to Fox News, Johnston said the law was “painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment.” Advocates for pregnancy centers testified for several hours that the law infringed on their free speech.

On March 10, Rep. Friess issued a statement following the passage of SB 1909.  

“Illinois is already the most radically pro-abortion state in the nation, yet the majority party in Springfield is still not satisfie, The democrats now, through SB 1909, seek to amend the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The amendment specifically identifies and names pregnancy centers and purports to prohibit pregnancy centers from the “use or employment of any deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation to interfere with or prevent an individual from seeking to gain entry or access to a provider of abortion.” In reality, the amendment targets crisis pregnancy centers in our state and seeks to unlawfully ban pregnancy centers from exercising their Constitutional right to free speech and prohibit people from telling pregnant women about the negative side effects of an abortion. It breaks my heart to say this, but it appears that the democrats do not want to give expecting mothers an option to terminate their pregnancy and kill their unborn child," he stated.

In a July 27 news release, Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a press release cheering Gov. Pritzker for signing the bill. The news release also notes that Raoul was the one to initiate Senate Bill 1909, and that he has “offered recommendations to patients seeking reproductive care to ensure they can access comprehensive health services.” He notes that while pregnancy crisis centers may say they offer a full range of reproductive care, the reality is that most aim just to convince the pregnant person to carry to term.