August 02, 2025
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On abortion: What La Salle County area candidates for federal office have to say

By Shaw Local News Network
Election 2024
Demonstrators Jonah Smith from Calif., left, and Robin G. from the D.C. area, stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court early Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare breach of the court's secretive deliberation process, and on a case of surpassing importance. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Demonstrators Jonah Smith from Calif., left, and Robin G. from the D.C. area, stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court early Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Washington. A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report released Monday. Whatever the outcome, the Politico report represents an extremely rare breach of the court's secretive deliberation process, and on a case of surpassing importance. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

What do candidates in the La Salle County area running for election for federal office have to say about abortion?

Before Politico’s report of a draft opinion that suggested the United States Supreme Court will overturn the 1973 case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide, we asked all candidates running for United States Congress this question on abortion.

Should pregnant women have the right to get an abortion?

Here is what the candidates had to say, prior to the Politico report:

U.S. Congress: House, 14th District:

James Marter: “Every Child has the right to LIFE. There is no Constitutional right to kill the innocent child in a mother’s womb. We need to protect women from the coercive tactics of the abortion industry and provide women all the facts about the risks and life-long psychological effects of taking the life of one’s own child.

“America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father’s role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters” And, in granting this unconscionable power, it has exposed many women to unjust and selfish demands from their husbands or other sexual partners. Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign.” (Mother Teresa)”

Jamie Milton: “No. Abortion is murder.”

Scott Gryder: “Life is sacred.”

U.S. Congress: House, 16th District:

Michael Rebresh: “Only in cases of rape, incest or critical to saving a mothers life from pregnancy complications”

Darin LaHood: “As a father of three boys and a practicing Catholic, I am proud to be pro-life and have a strong record in Congress of supporting pro-life policies. I oppose abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or a life-threatening impact to the mother.”

Also running: Republicans Walt Peters and JoAnne Guillemette.

After the news broke, LaHood also sent the following statement:

“The unprecedented leak of Justice Alito’s reported draft opinion is an attack on the independence of the Supreme Court – a separate and equal branch of our government. Leaders should be defending the Court, but President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and Governor Pritzker’s statements continue to play into the radical Left’s long-running campaign to intimidate federal judges and politicize the Supreme Court. These efforts to undermine the rule of law, judicial independence, and the Constitution must not be allowed to prevail.

“As a father of three and a staunch Pro-Life advocate, I believe that the Supreme Court should reconsider Roe and that states should be empowered to enact Pro-Life protections for the unborn. Democrats in Illinois and Congress continue to advocate for an extreme abortion agenda which includes late-term and taxpayer-funded abortion, restrictions on conscience protections, and limits on parental involvement.

“I remain committed to upholding the sanctity of Life and will continue to fight for the voiceless in Congress.”

U.S. Senate:

Matthew Dubiel: “They shut down the economy to “keep each other safe” from a virus that has a 99.97% survival rate. They closed school, and then masked kids when school resumed. They canceled funerals and weddings. They closed churches. There were about 36,000 total covid deaths in Illinois during Covid, total. Meanwhile each year during covid, Illinois had 45,000+ abortions. Why aren’t we trying to keep everyone safe? Why are you calling it a “right” to get an abortion? I want to protect life. Children need to be protected, no matter how old they are.”

Peggy Hubbard: “I am pro life, I will protect the unborn.”

Robert Piton: “The science is overwhelming. A baby inside a woman is a human life, not a “potential human life.” It is fueled by a woman, but it is its “own being.”

“I am in favor of more Sexual Education at “APPROPRIATE AGES,” not the pedophile indoctrination approach that the Radical Left is pursuing.

“I am also in favor of Family First Policies that restore Healthy Family Units.”

Also running: Republicans Casey Chlebek, Jimmy Lee Tillman II, Anthony W. Williams and Kathy Salvi and Democrat Tammy Duckworth.

Duckworth sent a statement to the media Tuesday regarding the draft opinion. She said:

“If this draft opinion becomes reality, a small group far-right Justices would be stripping away protected constitutional rights that millions of American families—including my own—have relied on for 50 years—and that 70% of Americans believe should be legal. The institution, and the Justices who claimed Roe was ‘settled law,’ will struggle to survive the stench of this decision.

“In a nation with a growing maternal mortality crisis and often inaccessible healthcare, without affordable childcare or universal paid leave, forcing births on millions of people—even when the mother’s life could be at risk—is particularly cruel. Before finalizing their decision in this case, I hope these Justices recognize that you cannot ban abortions, you can only criminalize safe abortions—and that their decision in this case could have far-reaching consequences on many, many other rights.

“I will keep working to convince my colleagues in the Senate that we must act to codify Roe v. Wade into law so that every American has equal access to basic, necessary healthcare—regardless of which state they live in, the color of their skin or the size of their income.”