Illinois anti-abortion groups were back in a Springfield courtroom today ... arguing against the new state law allowing for taxpayer-funded abortions.
They’re asking the Fourth District Appellate Court to overturn a trial judge’s dismissal of their case last year.
State Representative Peter Breen, a Lombard Republican and lawyer for the plaintiffs, says this goes beyond abortion. He says his case is really about the procedures the state legislature follows when passing a budget.
“The General Assembly has to estimate the revenues -- they can’t go above that revenue estimate. So that’s merely what we are asking the justices to do, just to declare the law and enforce it as written.”
Breen says money was not specifically set aside to pay for abortions for state employees or women on the Medicaid program — which were authorized for the first time under the law in question. But most medical procedures are not separately funded in the budget.
There’s no timeline for when the appellate court might rule on the case. No matter which side wins, the other party is likely to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.
