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Health & Fitness

David McSweeney Must Tell Voters How Many Years in Jail Illinois Women Should Receive for Having an Illegal Abortion

David McSweeney Must Tell Voters How Many Years in Jail Illinois Women Should Receive for Having an Illegal Abortion

If House candidate David McSweeney (R-52) is able to follow through with his campaign pledge to support legislation making abortion illegal, once again, in Illinois, voters have a right to know how many years in jail McSweeney thinks a woman should receive for getting an illegal abortion.

David McSweeney has repeatedly put in writing to anti-abortion organizations and others that he would vote to make abortion illegal in Illinois and believes that life begins at conception.  McSweeney has stated that he would vote for legislation that would outlaw abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest (Source: Eaton, Fran.  “8th Congressional District Republican candidate David McSweeney.”  Illinois Leader.  June 6-7, 2005.) Now comes the time for David McSweeney to tell voters how many years in jail a woman should be sentenced to once she is convicted of self-inducing an illegal abortion under the criminal code of Illinois.  In the McSweeney world, where life begins at conception, then ending this so-called “life” would be murder accompanied by a felony conviction.

“Should women go to jail for 30 years, 20 years, or 10 years for having an illegal abortion in Illinois?” asked Terry Cosgrove, President and CEO of Personal PAC, Illinois’s leading bi-partisan, independent pro-choice PAC in Illinois.  Personal PAC is dedicated to educating voters of  the positions of candidates on reproductive health issues.

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There is no way to make abortion a crime in Illinois and not attach criminal penalties to committing that crime.  Since there would not be a medical doctor involved in an illegal self-induced abortion, like was the case in nearly all abortion deaths and injuries prior to Roe v. Wade, the only person to charge, convict, and sentence for the crime of an illegal abortion, would be the woman herself who committed the crime (see attachments please).

“It is beyond irresponsible and completely dishonest for David McSweeney to refuse to tell voters the truth as to how many years in jail he would attach to his vote of making abortion a criminal act in Illinois,” stated Cosgrove.  “If David McSweeney wants to propose reckless and thoughtless laws such as making abortion illegal, then the least he can do is tell the truth as to the consequences of those laws,” concluded Cosgrove.

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