The implications of the Roe v. Wade draft decision are mammoth.
If the vote to overturn Roe v. Wade stands, it pushes the question of abortion back into the political process.
Illinois law would protect abortion rights, but the question of how lawmakers would tackle this thorniest of political issues at the federal level remains.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat from Evanston, says the majority of Americans do not want Roe v. Wade overturned.
“What the Supreme Court is doing is going against the will of the people,” Schakowsky said. “We have had Roe v. Wade for over half a century, almost … It was not the beginning of women having abortions, it was the end of women dying from abortions,” Schakowsky said.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a Democrat from the Austin neighborhood, says congressional efforts are ongoing.
“We’re going to be pushing hard to convince the Senate that they need to follow suit,” Davis said. “The American people, many of us feel that we’ve been sucker punched by the Supreme Court getting ready to live with a decision that we have not lived with for a long time … We want women to have every right and every choice to determine their health needs and their health care,” Davis said.
Davis added that congress is getting closer and closer to eliminating the filibuster and possibly passing abortion-rights legislation.
“If eliminating the filibuster is the only way to make it happen, then let’s eliminate the filibuster and make it real,” Davis said.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, a Republican from Taylorville, said that he has long been advocating for an end to the Roe decision, and is concerned with the court’s abortion decision being leaked.
“It was wrong from the beginning, and I hope the Court’s pending decision empowers states to enact pro-life laws and protect the unborn ... I am deeply concerned by the fact this draft opinion was leaked. This is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate the justices on this case and sway their opinion. A leak of this magnitude must be condemned and, if warranted, investigated and prosecuted,” wrote Rodney Davis.
“Chicago Tonight” invited all Illinois’ Republican Congress members to the join our discussion, but none accepted.