Thomas More Society attorneys are immediately beginning an appeal in the controversial HB-40 case after a Sangamon County judge granted a motion Thursday to dismiss by Illinois officials being sued by taxpayers.
It comes after the conservative activists and legislators pressed a lawsuit against publicly funded abortions in Illinois. They sought seeking an emergency injunction to prevent the law from taking effect Monday.
The Catholic Thomas More Society will appear in Sangamon County Circuit Court Thursday to ask for the injunction. The group says it would stop "tens of thousands of taxpayer-funded abortions in the New Year."
State Rep. Peter Breen is a Republican from Lombard and Thomas More Society special counsel. He says the law which expands Medicaid and state-employee group health insurance coverage to abortions will mean taxpayers will have to pay for as many as 30,000 abortions in Illinois annually.
Breen says many taxpayers have a "sincere moral objection" to paying for abortions. He says Illinois' budget crisis also makes financing them a problem.
- WNIJ's Jessie Schlacks and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
