Meanwhile, Illinois Lawmakers Try to Close Pro-Life Pregnancy Resource Centers
On July 19, another call was made to the Granite City 911 dispatch service from Hope Clinic for Women (HCW) in Granite City, Illinois. This time, abortionist Erin King made the 911 call. She requested emergency transport for a 35-year-old woman hemorrhaging after a second-trimester dilation and evacuation abortion.
Consistent with requests made by other employees of HCW, she asked for transport to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a Level One Trauma Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
King stated an agreement was in place with a “family planning team” to accept the transfer. Erin King’s husband, David Eisenberg, also an abortionist, has privileges at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
King was careful not to use the word “hemorrhage” even after the dispatcher translated the heavy, uncontrolled, post-abortion bleeding by using the medically appropriate term.
Life-threatening perforations and hemorrhages happen regularly at this notoriously dangerous facility, especially since Julie Burkhart became the primary owner last March and promised to ramp up the volume. Since then, the number of documented botched abortions has more than doubled.
This is the fourteenth medical emergency Operation Rescue has documented since that change in ownership last year. Operation Rescue staff has already opened an investigation into the fifteenth hospital transport that occurred about two weeks after this hemorrhage. That report is forthcoming.
“The number of life-threatening botched abortions taking place at this hopeless facility puts a dark stain on the state of Illinois and the city of Granite City,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “While babies are being violently killed and the lives of their mothers constantly endangered, the state’s lawmakers and the governor are busy enacting a law to prevent pregnancy resource centers from providing truly hopeful alternatives to women in crisis pregnancy situations.”
Effort to Close Pregnancy Resource Centers
On May 10, Illinois House lawmakers passed SB 1909, and pro-abortion Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed it into law on July 27. The law is designed to close pregnancy resource centers by infringing on the free speech rights of staff and volunteers working to help mothers make life-affirming choices for their babies.
Fortunately, a federal judge granted a motion last week for an injunction. This came after Thomas More Society attorneys argued on behalf of several pro-life organizations and their clients that the law “openly targets pro-life pregnancy ministries – while exempting abortion facilities – by specifically prohibiting them from engaging in undefined ‘deception’ or ‘omissions of any material fact.’”
“This unconstitutional law is currently blocked by this federal judge, and it should be,” said Newman. “The staff and volunteers of pregnancy resource centers all over the country are offering mom’s legitimate help – providing material resources, emotional support, and, yes, telling them the truth about the development of their babies, the truth about the actual abortion procedures, as well as the dangers and long-term negative effects associated with abortion.
“At Operation Rescue, we are well aware of the dangers of abortion, and we work hard to bring awareness to the public about the life-threatening injuries that happen with incredible frequency at these killing centers. And, this grossly misnamed facility is certainly one of the worst in the country.
“We have never had to report about a pregnancy resource center causing life-threatening injuries, nor have we had to report about the death of any sort as a result of the services provided by these life-affirming centers. However, we report every week about life-threatening injuries at abortion facilities. And, we have documented a remarkable number of women killed because of abortion injuries.”
The value that pregnancy resource centers bring to women in desperate situations is unparalleled, as evidenced by a peer reviewed study of 1,000 post-abortive females, aged 41-45 surveyed in the U.S. Published in May, it revealed that 60% “would have preferred to give birth if they had received either more emotional support or had more financial security.”
Shameful Absurdity
Of all the emergencies Operation Rescue has documented in 2023, HCW of Granite City, Illinois, has the highest frequency of emergency hospitalizations – averaging one per month. These do not include other emergency transports that took place when sidewalk counselors were not present to provide the evidence. The actual number is unknown.
“Illinois state legislators, the Granite City City Council, and Gov. Pritzker should all be ashamed for allowing this killing center to operate – destroying the lives of innocent babies up to 24 weeks gestation and injuring women with startling frequency,” said Newman.
“The state is not only subjecting its own citizens to this dangerous killing center but is inviting poor, unsuspecting women from other states to become its victims as well. And, though the Illinois politicians voting in favor of abortion may claim to be ‘pro-choice,’ they are seeking to remove any choice other than death through abortion.”
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