Chicago City Wire

Democratic Party candidate for Congress Chris Butler said it is “time for a new way forward on abortion” following the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling regarding abortion rights.

Butler is running in the 1st District to replace outgoing Democrat Bobby Rush.

“Americans have been unhappy for a long time with the polarizing rhetoric that has pervaded our discourse on this topic, which has served only the political elites capitalizing on it — not the everyday Americans facing real decisions about pregnancy, family, and relationships,” Butler said in a press release.

The draft opinion was leaked on Monday, indicating a historic overturning of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion. The opinion, authored by Samuel Alito, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, is expected to receive a 5-4 vote when finalized. That would allow states to outlaw or restrict the practice.

"Normal people are not locked into the easy binaries of modern political activism," Butler said on Twitter. "They know that there is life inside the womb AND that there is more to life than being born."

Abortion facilities in the state have been increasing their capacity in anticipation of an influx of out-of-state patients seeking abortions. In recent years, Planned Parenthood has opened abortion clinics along the state's border with Republican-controlled states. Abortion providers, according to the organization, are bracing for a five-fold increase in abortions.

"The fate of #RoeVsWade does not have to determine the future of America," Butler tweeted. "But, the current leadership set doesn’t have what it takes to lead us forward. We need fresh leadership with a better conversation that rallies us around a historic investment in women and working families."

Butler is a pastor who organizes churches against violent crime as a member of the Chicago Peace Campaign. He also owns a public affairs consulting firm. 

The pastor is a former Obama campaigner who has also worked for school choice campaigns. The 1st Congressional District  includes much of Cook County, the South Side of Chicago, and continues southwest to Joliet.