NOW, IT’S ‘ PERSONAL’
Searing rhetoric hits new level as abortion- rights PAC suggests governor — and first lady — are liars
It was no surprise when abortion rights activists blasted Gov. Bruce Rauner Wednesday for his vow to veto a bill they support, but they took it a step further, suggesting the governor — and first lady Diana Rauner — are both liars.
The head of Personal PAC blasted the first lady for helping pay for a full- page newspaper ad in the last campaign in which she and friends touted her husband’s “pro- choice” credentials. During the campaign, Diana Rauner — who heads the Ounce of Prevention Fund, and contributed thousands to Planned Parenthood alongside the governor — became a spokeswoman for her husband.
She appeared in a campaign ad, declaring she’s a Democrat and saying Rauner doesn’t have a “social agenda.”
“So, Diana, did you lie to all your friends … or did Bruce lie to you?” Personal PAC founder Marcie Love asked Wednesday.
The searing rhetoric underscores just how heated the issue could become in the upcoming gubernatorial election after the governor vowed to veto a bill to ensure abortion remains legal in Illinois and also allow women to use Medicaid and state health insurance to pay for the procedure. The state already pays for abortions for cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. But the new measure seeks to include all abortions.
Rauner’s administration last week said he’d veto the House bill that would remove a “trigger provision” that would make abortions illegal should Roe v. Wade be overturned — and also allow women with Medicaid and state- employee health insurance to use their coverage for abortions.
Before the Roe v. Wade decision, abortion in Illinois was illegal unless a mother’s life was at stake. A law was passed in 1975 that said Illinois would make abortions illegal again if the top court’s decision was ever modified.
Terry Cosgrove, CEO of Personal PAC, released a questionnaire from the 2014 governor’s race showing Rauner’s support for pro- choice causes. He said it was the first time in 28 years that the organization released such a survey, choosing to do so to show that Rauner “misrepresented” and “lied to voters” about his women’s rights views.
On the 2014 questionnaire, Rauner wrote: “I dislike the Illinois law that restricts abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan and state employees’ health insurance because I believe it unfairly restricts access based on income. I would support a legislative effort to reverse that law.”
But Rauner’s office last week said the governor doesn’t support the current bill because of “sharp divisions of opinion of taxpayer funding of abortion,” while offering that he’s “committed to protecting women’s reproductive rights under current Illinois law.”
The administration on Wednesday said the current law already covers abortions and “goes above and beyond federal law by covering abortions to protect the health of the mother.”
Rauner’s administration also contends he has signed two bills protecting women’s reproductive rights — one mandating private insurance coverage for birth control and a right of conscience measure.
“SO, DIANA, DID YOU LIE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS … OR DID BRUCE LIE TO YOU?” MARCIE LOVE, Personal PAC founder