Championing the sanctity of life has long been a historic practice of Christianity. The church has taught about the harms of abortion for nearly 2,000 years—and for good reason.
As verses like Psalm 139:13 make clear, God creates each unique human life in His image at conception. This truth grounds the Christian belief that human life—born or unborn—has inestimable dignity. Unfortunately, a new bill in Illinois forces religious organizations to undermine this key tenet of the faith by hiring employees who disagree with or even act in direct opposition to the organizations’ beliefs.
Dedicated to protecting life
The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford has served the community in and around Rockford, Illinois, for over 40 years. The center provides life-affirming services including pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, and tests for sexually transmitted infections—all free of charge. PCC of Rockford also provides families with diapers, clothing, blankets, cribs, car seats, and other essential items to care for children.
The center is a Christian nonprofit, and its mission includes sharing “by word and deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all who seek our services.” As such, it requires its employees to hold to its religious beliefs, including the belief that every life is sacred and begins at conception.
Alliance Defending Freedom is also representing PCC of Rockford in a separate lawsuit challenging an Illinois law that forces pro-life doctors and pregnancy centers to tell women the so-called “benefits” of abortion and to refer for abortions. (Read more about that case.) Now, another Illinois bill is further threatening the pregnancy center.
The Diocese of Springfield is a nonprofit corporation organized for religious purposes. It was established in 1923 and serves around 120,000 Catholics in western Illinois through 129 parishes. The Diocese has ministries that support and promote the dignity and value of human life.
Like PCC of Rockford, the Diocese of Springfield wants to hire only employees who share its beliefs, including beliefs about the sanctity of life, and to promote those core beliefs to people it encounters. But a new bill altered the Illinois Human Rights Act, preventing these two organizations from following their beliefs.
Illinois is targeting pro-life organizations
Originally enacted in 1979, the Illinois Human Rights Act was meant to protect people from discrimination based on protected characteristics including “race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, order of protection status, marital status, physical or mental disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or unfavorable discharge from military service.”
But in August 2024, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved a new bill that added “reproductive health decisions” to the list of protected characteristics. The change was seemingly meant to target pro-life organizations like PCC of Rockford and the Diocese of Springfield.
During debates about the new bill, sponsors in the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate made it clear that the Act’s exemption for religious employers would not protect “crisis pregnancy centers” that were “religious” or “Christian” but not “affiliated with any particular denomination.” The bill still passed both chambers, and rather than vetoing it due to its clear First Amendment violations, Gov. Pritzker approved it. Attorney General Kwame Raoul expressed excitement that the bill would help make Illinois a “haven” for abortion.
Organizations should be free to live out their beliefs
The new bill forces PCC of Rockford and the Diocese of Springfield to hire employees who don’t share their beliefs about the sanctity of life, and it prohibits them from disciplining employees if they choose to have abortions themselves.
Both the pregnancy center and the diocese are committed to living out the teachings of Scripture in every respect, but that goal would be undermined if their employees do not affirm Christian beliefs about the sanctity of life.
In addition, the statute prohibits organizations from expressing certain messages about abortion that could be deemed “offensive,” and it requires organizations that offer accommodations for new mothers to also provide accommodations for women seeking abortions.
The First Amendment protects the rights of religious organizations to live according to their beliefs. That includes the right to hire only people who share the religious beliefs of the organization, the right to share their beliefs about the sanctity of life, and the right to decline to accommodate abortions and other actions that violate their pro-life principles.
Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit in March 2025 on behalf of PCC of Rockford and the Diocese of Springfield. The changes Illinois has made to its Human Rights Act violate the First Amendment, and ADF is asking a federal district court to affirm the rights of these organizations to live out their beliefs.
The Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford v. Bennett
- August 2024: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved a bill that forces religious organizations to violate their beliefs about the sanctity of life.
- March 2025: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit challenging the bill on behalf of PCC of Rockford and the Diocese of Springfield.
