Dear St. Anne Catholic Church, School, and Preschool Academy families,
During this Respect Life Month, we in Illinois have an important opportunity and obligation to defend the lives of the unborn as well as the spiritual and physical safety of our children. In the Veto session that began today (October 19th), the Illinois state legislature could consider repealing the state's Parental Notice of Abortion law. That law has been a state statute since 1995 and has been enforced since 2013. The current law does not require parental consent but does require that a parent or legal guardian be notified when a minor under the age of 18 seeks an abortion. The current law offers exemptions from this parental notification, for example, when a girl states in writing that she is a victim of sexual abuse, neglect or physical abuse by an adult family member. It is quite possible that a bill nearly identical to last spring's House Bill 1797 and Senate Bill 2190 will soon be considered to dismantle the current law.
The Parental Notice of Abortion Act is a broadly-supported, reasonable safeguard that allows parents to properly exercise love and care for their children. Repealing this law would be contrary to the legal and moral right of parents and legal guardians to care for their children. Consider the following:
- Under current law, it is illegal for minors to use an indoor tanning bed. Before that prohibition was implemented on Jan. 1, 2014, minors between the ages of 14 and 17 had to have parental consent.
- Under current law, it is illegal for a minor to get a tattoo or body piercing without parental consent.
- Minors cannot vote, buy cigarettes, serve in the military or purchase lottery tickets, but they will be able to get an abortion at any time, for any reason, without their parents' knowledge, if the current law is repealed.
- Medical studies show brain development in minors is not complete. This is why so many of our laws require parental involvement in the decisions of their minor children. Decisions on abortion, which have been shown to have significant physical and psychological consequences, should be no different.
In concert with all six Catholic Bishops in the State of Illinois, I ask you please to contact your State Senator and State Representative to urge them to oppose repealing the Parental Notice of Abortion law. To easily send them an email, you can go to: https://www.ilcatholic.org. To sign an online petition to keep parental notification in place, click here. Lastly, let us all pray for a greater respect for human life in our state and throughout our country. Jesus said: "I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
Thank you for witnessing to the Gospel of Life!
Fr. Draper