Quincy Reporter

State Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) views Democrats' push to repeal the Parental Notice of Abortion Act (PNA) as a direct attack on the rights of parents across the state.

“Our children need our love and support and once again we're seeing major efforts to try to break the ties between a parent and child and it's unnecessary and this is so illogical it defies any common sense,” Tracy said at a press conference earlier this month about legislation that seeks to repeal the law mandating that a parent or guardian is informed at least 48 hours in advance when a minor seeks an abortion. “It’s illogical.”

Tracy also chastised Democratic lawmakers over what she sees as their inconsistent nature when it comes to much of the legislation they advance in the name of protecting young people.

“The majority party has passed legislation to protect minors, just recently we've protected criminal juvenile activity through recognizing that their young brains haven't fully formed, that they're immature, that their actions need counseling and support,” she said. “We passed a law through the Democrat majority to raise the smoking age to 21 because young minds don't have the critical thinking as we were told to make these necessary decisions. And that's why I called this bill illogical.”

As an example, Tracy highlights the way a parent’s consent is needed for something as simple as a teacher being able to give a student an aspirin as another example of the self-contradictions.

“Why would we think it would be a good idea to not involve a parent to be notified when a child is looking at a major medical procedure that will affect them for the rest of their lives?” she said. “The parents need to be involved in helping form that decision and dealing with the aftereffects. We recognize minors need their parents and so we're urging the majority party not to call this bill.”

The abortion debate has recently taken center stage anew across the country in the wake of lawmakers in Texas moving to enact a law that bans most abortions, with abortion-rights advocates in the General Assembly zeroing in on what many view as the last restriction on access here in Illinois.

The Texas law directly bans most abortions after cardiac activity is detected in the fetus, which typically comes at about six weeks following conception. In addition, in just over a month the U.S. Supreme Court is also poised to hear arguments on the merits of a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks.

With Gov. J.B. Pritzker already on the record in favoring the PNA repeal, Tracy is urging parents across Illinois to make sure their voices are heard on the issue.

“We support the existing bill as it is and we're asking the public for their support to help us hear how they feel about it,” she said. “I've heard in my office over and over from parents over the years about this assault on their rights with their children and so we're asking again for their support to help us make that case be made again.”