On April 9, the Illinois House passed HB 4839, which amends the Hospital Licensing Act.
Sponsored by State Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) and State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago), this bill enables the Illinois Department of Public Health to create a new form that makes it possible for parents who either experience a miscarriage before 20 weeks of gestation or complete an abortion at any point in pregnancy to obtain, if desired, funeral services for their preborn child.
Under prior law, a fetal death certificate was only provided for a miscarriage after 20 weeks of gestation, apparently making it impossible for a family to obtain and dispose of their baby’s remains through a funeral service provider if the pregnancy ended in any other way.
A Surprising Sponsor
During a short floor debate, Cassidy described HB 4839 as allowing for “a dignified disposition of remains.” While this is a commendable and logical response to all types of pregnancy loss, Rep. Cassidy’s sponsorship is unexpected.
A reliably progressive, pro-abortion voice in the Illinois House for whom pro-LGBTQ+ causes, so-called reproductive rights, and anti-ICE rhetoric are featured pages on her website, Cassidy is not the first representative one would expect to champion the dignity of preborn babies. And yet, here we are.
Confusion is a Feature, Not a Bug
It’s yet another example of the mental gymnastics necessary for a progressive to be a progressive.
They will stand for the dignified disposition of the remains of an preborn child even as they elevate a woman’s right to kill her innocent child at any point in pregnancy. In the case of an abortion, they will stand with the morally confused choice to honor a discarded child while still applauding the deliberate killing of that image-bearer.
That’s what it takes to hold these viewpoints.
A complete departure from logic and ethics, and an embrace of a narrative that casts people as oppressor and oppressed, worthy of disregard or applauded in exercising unfettered license. Rather than struggle with the tension between nascent life and that of a reluctant mother, this worldview is only too happy to simply discard one, using terminology to dehumanize and diminish him or her…until it serves other political ends. How exhausting.
Join us in praying that this legislation would become a pebble in the proverbial shoe of Cassidy, Villanueva and other lawmakers who hold these viewpoints, that they would come under conviction, recognize the confusion they have embraced, and come to a saving knowledge of the God who made every precious life.
Pray also for the parents who are considering abortion, that they would be confronted with the unmistakable worth of their preborn child and choose life.
Take ACTION: Click HERE to send a message to your state senator to urge him or her to vote against HB 4839. This bill exposes a deep contradiction in our state: we acknowledge the dignity of preborn human life in death while still permitting its destruction in the womb. Christians must not ignore this moment.
Please PRAY: Ask God to use this legislation to awaken the conscience of lawmakers like Kelly Cassidy—that they would recognize the value of every preborn child and turn away from abortion advocacy and to champion the right to life for preborn babies at every stage of development.
