Illinois Democrats’ Latest Push to Endanger Kids in the Name of Freedom

This is a non-comprehensive list of things minors (18 and younger) are not legally permitted to do in the state of Illinois:

• Purchase, possess, or consume alcohol. Purchase tobacco, nicotine, and vaping products. Purchase or possess recreational marijuana.
• Buy lottery tickets, participate in most forms of regulated gambling, or enter a casino to gamble.
• Stay out past curfew (under 17).
• Work in a factory, mining or quarry operation, explosives manufacturing, or metalworking; operate dangerous machinery; or work in other hazardous industrial jobs.
• Work late at night or excessively throughout the week and during school hours (under 16).
• Serve on a jury. Get married.
• Enter adult entertainment, gambling, and alcohol-focused establishments.
• Purchase or possess firearms, except in certain situations.

Notably absent from this list: accessing so-called reproductive healthcare.

Pritzker’s Illinois removed any parental input in a minor’s decision to have an abortion in 2022, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that just last week, Dems in the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 3341. Previously, minors in Illinois had to meet at least one of six possible criteria to access birth control services. One of those was the consent of a parent or legal guardian. SB 3341 has removed that crucial guardrail.

Amending the Birth Control Services to Minors Act, SB 3341 is summarized as follows (emphasis mine):

Provides that any minor may give effective consent for contraceptive services or supplies and the consent of no other person is required; and that a request for prescription contraceptive services or supplies shall be made to a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches, an advanced practice registered nurse or a physician assistant licensed to practice in the State, or a pharmacist pursuant to the Pharmacy Practice Act. Provides that for the purposes of accessing contraceptive services or supplies, a minor is deemed to have the same legal capacity to act and has the same powers and obligations as a person of legal age.

Headed for the governor’s desk, this reckless, radical policy is sure to be signed into law. And while it isn’t a shock considering the militantly pro-abortion culture fostered by Pritzker and his ilk, this development deserves our attention, vigilance, and fervent prayers.

“Access” Over Safety

It’s hard to know where to begin on such a concerning piece of legislation, but one obvious omission is a lower limit to the age that constitutes a minor. SB 3341 seems to indicate that even a 13-year-old, for example, will have unfettered access to birth control once this becomes law.

Anyone who has raised a child knows that there are years before they are a legal adult when some can barely be counted on to remember a permission slip or their homework, but Illinois Democrats are assuming children of the same age will reliably take a pill or follow the prescription instructions for so-called emergency contraception.

The vast majority of adults have enough common sense and common decency to feel a sense of responsibility to protect kids, including contacting the proper authorities when something seems “off.” But under SB 3341, prescribing medical providers are expected to simply dispense the drugs without following their gut that maybe, just maybe, it’s a red flag that a young girl is requesting, let alone needing, contraceptives.

It’s alarming that nowhere in the short text of this amendment is there a provision to ensure girls are not accessing birth control as a result of being coerced, abused, or trafficked. The  Left continues the trend of sacrificing kids on the altar of radical sexual freedom.

As State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) noted,

“It’s just disheartening that we continually think that government knows better than a parent knows about their children,” she said.

“I recognize not all children have ideal home situations, but that’s not to say that most do, and so this bill addresses those that don’t, but it also affects those that do.”

How Did We Get Here?

The worldview that animates this kind of legislative move is the same one that has worked for decades now to devalue, discount, and dismantle a traditional, biblical understanding of gender, marriage, sex, procreation, and family.

Here are a few post-sexual revolution presuppositions that led to this cultural moment, punctuated by the specific ways they tear down the image and design of God:

1. Women are the same as men; therefore, they should be able to have sex the same way, without consequences they carry in their physical bodies (namely, a pregnancy). This divorces women’s bodies from their God-given ability to conceive and carry life.
2. Marriage is somehow “just a piece of paper” while also being an institution that is so meaningful that it is bigoted not to open it up to any two people who love one another, regardless of sex. It is also primarily a means to personal satisfaction, not a mutually submissive relationship with children (and the self-sacrifice attendant to parenthood) included. This guts the procreative purpose of marriage.
3. Sex is merely a physical act and not the mingling of souls, so it can be treated like a bodily function and not a drive to master and submit to another in a covenantal relationship. As such, there should never be shame or consequences for engaging in sex in whatever form or with whomever one chooses. This rips sex from the bounds of marriage and its natural outcome of pregnancy.
4. Radical sexual expression is the highest form of self-actualization, and one’s choices in this area must not be challenged, not even in love. Parents are only loving if they affirm their children in every choice they make. This undermines and removes parents from their God-given position and responsibility in their children’s lives, to counsel, guide, and discipline them.

The enemy is not subtle, but he is effective.

At the same time, God’s design is good, and it remains the same. Now more than ever, our kids need us to shelter and shepherd them. No matter how hard it tries, the state will never be a substitute for parents. It cannot nurture, nor can it form. And in the hands of those who have bought a pernicious lie about sex, marriage, and family, it is dangerous.

Let us keep modeling for the next generation what it is to be faithful in sexuality, marriage, and family. And pray God would convict our leaders and protect the vulnerable.

It’s important to note that SB 3341 is a harbinger of what is likely to come next for Illinois kids. If Illinois’ minors are being given hormonal birth control without their parents’ knowledge, it’s only a small step further for them to access potentially irreversible “gender affirming care” behind their backs.

If the Trump Administration does not work to codify its executive orders on gender ideology, it is all but certain that Illinois Democrats will make this a priority in the near future. Pray, and contact your Congressional Representatives and Senators to keep this issue top of mind for them.