The leadership of the Springfield Catholic Diocese has signed on to a new lawsuit challenging a new Illinois law, supposedly forbidding discrimination against women over their “reproductive health choices,” which the church leaders say would actually trample the First Amendment religious freedom rights of organizations which oppose abortion, along with other controversial “reproductive freedom” issues championed by Illinois’ left-wing Democratic leaders.
On March 20, the Diocese of Springfield signed onto the lawsuit, along with a crisis pregnancy center in Rockford, seeking a court order forbidding the state from enforcing its new law against them and other religious organizations and employers.
The Springfield Diocese covers 28 central Illinois counties, including Madison and Sangamon counties, and includes more than 123,000 Roman Catholic adherents.
They are represented in the action by attorneys from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a constitutional law non-profit that typically advocates for socially conservative causes.
The lawsuit takes aim at the legislation known as HB4687. That legislation, passed in 2024, amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of “reproductive health decisions” for people seeking employment, housing, credit and public accommodations.
The legislation was quickly signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, who has been consistently recognized as one of the most pro-abortion governors or public officials in the U.S.