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DANVILLE – The Danville City Council narrowly passed an ordinance outlawing the shipping of abortion medication and tools used to perform abortions Tuesday night.
Now, Danville is wielding legal threats from the ACLU of Illinois and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. But, many aldermen voted in spite of these threats, citing their moral convictions.
“If I thought for one minute, my vote would end an infant’s life I could not live with myself,” Danville Alderman Sharon Pickering said. “How can I put a dollar amount on life? I can’t and I won’t.”
At the meeting, the council amended the ordinance in an attempt to shield the city from legal challenges. The amended ordinance will only go into effect after the city “obtains a declaratory judgment from a court.”
Tensions were high at the meeting where hundreds of abortion rights advocates and abortion rights opponents protested inside the council chambers for more than two hours before the meeting began.
The ACLU of Illinois threatened to sue the city if they passed the ordinance last week. The ordinance clearly violates both state law and the Reproductive Health Act, said Chaundre White, a senior supervising attorney with the ACLU of Illinois.
“The city of Danville is not free to ignore that law and pass its own ordinance that is illegal and that is something that we will litigate in court,” White said.
Illinois’ Reproductive Health Act guarantees the right to make choices about reproductive healthcare — including having an abortion.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sent a letter to Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. warning the proposed ordinance violated state law.
“Illinois law could not be clearer,” Raoul wrote, “Our state is a proud safe haven for access to reproductive health care that respects bodily autonomy and fundamental rights.”
“I will continue to stand up for the rights of everyone in Illinois to access reproductive health care, and my office stands ready to take appropriate action to uphold Illinois law.”
Many aldermen disregarded the opinion of James Simon, the attorney for the council, who said these decisions are ultimately up to the city of Illinois.
“I do not believe under Illinois law or federal law, that this ordinance is legal,” Simon said.