CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday said accessibility to abortion will remain the law of the land in his state, a day after Politico leaked a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court that suggested the landmark Roe v. Wade case will be overturned.
“No matter what atrocious opinion the Supreme Court officially rolls out this summer in regard to Roe v. Wade, abortion is safe and legal in Illinois,” Pritzker said. “As long as I’m governor of Illinois and as long as we have a pro-choice legislature, abortion will be legal in this state."
The governor also suggested any overturning of Roe would set a precedent that would infringe on other basic freedoms.
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“If this ruling stands, if they can reverse 50 years of settled law, then every Supreme Court decision that has made this country freer and fairer can be reversed by this court,” Pritzker said.
Lawmakers who support abortion rights joined Pritzker.
“I feel like my life and my family’s life is teetering at the top of a Jenga tower that we’re watching crash in real time,” state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said.
Cassidy challenged fellow lawmakers to get creative in finding ways to help women who come to Illinois for abortions from more restrictive states.
State Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, called the leaked draft opinion an attack on women.
“The future we feared is here, and now is the time for clarity, intention and action.”
Some Illinois Republicans -- including one who hopes to face Democrat Pritzker in the general election -- were ecstatic about the potential Roe reversal.
"We dropped to our knees and said a prayer as a family in gratitude for all the lives that will be saved," Jesse Sullivan of Petersburg said on Twitter. "And then we said the pledge of allegiance. The flag looks different after this ruling -- it shines even brighter."
Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Miller also supported the high court's apparent decision.
“Our Justices need your prayers to stand up to the radical abortion industry and Defend Life! The unborn have no voice to speak for themselves, we march for them and tonight we pray for them,” she wrote on Twitter Monday night.
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