Suit was filed last week in an Illinois federal district court by a Christian Pregnancy Care Center and a Catholic diocese challenging the requirement that they comply with recent amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act that prohibit discrimination against employees based on their reproductive health care decisions. The complaint (full text) in Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford v. Bennett, (ND IL, filed 3/20/2025), alleges in part:
198. Because they wish to carry out their respective missions and spread their pro-life messages successfully, Plaintiffs hire and retain employees who avoid reproductive decisions that undermine their identity, mission, and message. For Plaintiffs, the credibility of their messengers is as important as the message.
199. The Act’s Employment, Offensive Speech, and Notice Clauses severely burden Plaintiffs’ freedom of expressive association by forcing them to form associations and assemblies with employees whose reproductive decisions undermine their mission and message....
209. The Act substantially burdens Plaintiffs’ right to the free exercise of religion by prohibiting faith-based speech and conduct related to reproduction, interfering with their faith-based employment decisions, and forcing Plaintiffs to revise their statements of faith, positional statements, codes of conduct, employee handbooks, and other policy documents....
235. [The] right to religious (or “church”) autonomy safeguards a religious organization’s decision about which officers, board members, employees, and volunteers are best suited to advance its religious mission and purpose.
236. This freedom extends to Plaintiffs’ ability to hire and employ only those who believe—and live out—the beliefs of their organizations about reproductive health decisions such as abortion, sterilization, and contraception....
259. The Act also restricts Plaintiffs’ right to free speech because it compels them to speak a message contrary to their beliefs not only to their current employees but also to prospective employees and the public in general....
281. Defendants’ application of the Act’s provisions about reproductive decisions to Plaintiffs’ religious speech and conduct violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Catholic Vote reports on the lawsuit.
