Chicago City Wire

Illinois Right to Life Action’s Ralph Rivera is questioning GOP gubernatorial candidate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s commitment to putting his beliefs on display. 

Irvin refused to participate in a survey created by the Chicago-based organization. 

“I'm not trying to be negative, but I believe sometimes candidates don't fill these out and they hurt themselves. I don't know why they wouldn’t,” Rivera said. “If you're pro-life, you want to reach out and let pro-life people know that you are. So it's not just parental notice, but it's taxpayer funding, it's the Reproductive Health Act that passed in 2019, taking all restrictions away from abortion in Illinois, except the parental notice, and then they did that last year by repealing it, and it kind of goes on and on. So I think people would like to know the extent of the statement on pro-life.”

Last year's repeal of the Parental Notice of Abortion Act by Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been dubbed by religious leaders as "evil," according to Prairie State Wire. The repeal means that abortion providers are no longer required to give notification of the procedure to the parents or guardians of a minor seeking an abortion.

The Illinois Right to Life questionnaire provides information on candidate beliefs. The group notes it “spends months and hundreds of hours researching and surveying those who are running for office each election, and then rating them according to his/her pro-life stance.”

Abortion clinics in Illinois have been expanding their capacity in preparation for the influx of people seeking abortions in the state. Planned Parenthood has opened many new abortion facilities along the state's border with Republican-controlled states in recent years. According to the organization, abortion providers are prepared for a five-fold rise in abortions, the Prairie State Wire reported.

Several other conservative organizations have refused to interact with Irvin and Bourne. Irvin has been hard to find on the campaign trail since skipping the Central Illinois Republican Governor Candidate Forum on April 25, the Peoria Standard reported. Before issuing its May 7 endorsement, the New Trier Township Republican Committee is anticipating Irvin's participation in its meet-and-greet series.