Metro East Sun

Gov. J.B. Pritzker called for a special session of the General Assembly to focus on creating abortion accessibility and other reproductive health legislation.

“We knew this day was coming,” Pritzker said at a June 24 news conference in Chicago, the Illinois Newsroom reported. “The extremists on the Supreme Court have made an abhorrent decision, one rooted in partisanship, leaving an indelible stain on our nation.”

Illinois Republicans who supported the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade are saying the governor is wasting money.

“Gov. Pritzker is calling a special session to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on the issue of abortion, only to score political points,” Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) posted on Facebook.

According to NBC Chicago, Pritzker pledged that Illinois would stand up for women and that the state would not return to “Ward 41,” where hospitals treated pregnancies turned septic due to botched abortions.

“I am informing the General Assembly that I will be calling them into special session in the coming weeks to more firmly protect women's reproductive rights in Illinois and address the challenges posed by this radical Supreme Court decision," Pritzker said. "I'm grateful to have the support and partnership of House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon in this effort. Together the Democratic leadership in Illinois is committed to taking swift action to further enshrine our commitment to reproductive health care."

Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, wrote criminalizing abortions doesn’t end them. 

"Preventing women and girls from accessing an abortion does not mean they stop needing one," the group's website says. "That’s why attempts to ban or restrict abortions do nothing to reduce the number of abortions, it only forces people to seek out unsafe abortions."

Davidsmeyer's Facebook post linked to a video on his website in which he said there are more pressing issues for the government to address. 

“The Governor announced that he’s going to bring back the General Assembly to deal with the issue of abortion. Illinois is a destination for abortion already. Democrats have already legalized everything that they could possibly do with abortion, including taxpayer-funded elective abortions, as well as 12-year-old being able to go into their doctor and get an abortion without even notifying their parents," Davidsmeyer said. "Illinois is going to waste money - hundreds of thousands of dollars - to come back for something like this, when downstate communities are talking about having rolling brownouts because of lack of energy. We've got $5 gasoline. We've got inflation going through the roof, and we're going to bring back a special session so that the Governor and the Democrats can make a special point about an issue that the state of Illinois has already decided."

Davidsmeyer called the governor's actions "absolutely ridiculous."

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous that we're wasting this time and money when there are people downstate that are going to be hurt and not to mention that at the Jacksonville developmental center the state of Illinois can't even afford to mow the yard," Davidsmeyer said. "We're going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring the General Assembly back for something that the state has already decided. It's absolutely ridiculous and the Governor should be ashamed of himself.”

Axios reported the National Abortion Federation found there have been an increase on attacks on abortion clinics last year. 

According to Politico, Justice Clarence Thomas has also suggested that the U.S. Supreme Court look at other cases that have already been ruled on - such as cases that focus on birth control and same-sex marriage.