Carbondale Reporter

Republican state Rep. Dave Severin is lamenting the recent passage of bills he argues give too much power to Gov. J.B. Pritzker while stripping away the rights of parents.

”Governor Pritzker has been allowed to manage the pandemic on his own as the House and Senate Democrats have sat idly by, yielding to his every demand, bowing to every Executive Order,” Severin said, continuing to voice his opposition to a change to the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act he argues gives Gov. J.B. Pritzker more wiggle room when it comes to dealing with lawsuits filed against his vaccine or testing mandate.

”Governor Pritzker has been allowed to manage the pandemic on his own as the House and Senate Democrats have sat idly by, yielding to his every demand, bowing to every Executive Order,” Severin added. “I’ve been working to get our state back open, to get kids back in school, to get people back to work after the shutdowns. I have also encouraged people to get the vaccine if it makes sense for them. I have totally opposed the mandating of the COVID-19 vaccine, especially for our first responders, police, nurses, doctors, and EMTs. They were the ones helping us fight this pandemic from the very beginning. Now Gov. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats are threatening them with losing their livelihoods because of a deeply held conscientious or religious belief they hold. That is wrong.”

House Democrats recently garnered enough support to pass the elimination of religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines and testing to the Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

At the same time, the House passed legislation paving the way for the elimination of the requirement that parents of minor children be notified within 48 hours of the minor child having an abortion (HB 370).

”Illinois House and Senate Democrats have now added the removal of the right of a parent or guardian to know if their minor child is about to have an abortion to their growing list of leftist progressive policy advancements,” Severin added. “This is a dangerous change in law, that removes fundamental rights of parents to be made aware of serious medical decisions being made in their children’s lives.”