State Rep. Monica Bristow should return money from those representatives who voted for a bill expanding access to abortion, according to her opponent in November's election.
Amy Elik, who is seeking to wrest the 111th District seat from the incumbent, has highlighted campaign contributions from four state representatives, all of whom voted for HB 40 in 2017, and three who backed a second bill two years later.
Rep. Bristow (D-Godfrey), elected in 2018, has publicly declared her opposition to the passage of the HB 40, which provides state health insurance and Medicaid coverage for abortions.
The bill was passed mainly along party lines, though a number of Democrats voted against. Then Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the controversial bill into the law, stating that while the moral argument against its enactment was very powerful, ultimately believed that "equality" was the "deciding factor."
"No woman should be forced to make a different decision than another woman made purely based on her income," Rauner said.
But Elik took aim at her opponent for accepting money from four representatives, whom she described as "radical pro-abortion activists."
Bristow countered by noting that "Citizens for Life PAC and the Illinois Federation for Right to Life PAC have both endorsed me and not Amy Elik."
This is "because I am the only candidate with a real record of protecting the right to life 100% of the time. Elik is lying to voters again to distract from her agenda of cutting senior care to boost her own nursing home profits," the representative told the Record.
The four, Reps. Marty Moylan, Larry Walsh Jr., Mike Halpin, and Natalie Manley each contributed $57,800 to Bristow's campaign fund, which currently has more than $1.1 million cash in hand. Elik's campaign has $130,000, boosted in recent weeks by major contributions from the state Republican party and House members.
“Bristow’s campaign is funded by pro-abortion activists that were happy to make Illinois the most liberal state in the country on abortion,” Elik said in a statement.
“From Speaker Madigan to Chicago-area politicians, which pro-abortion politician won’t Monica Bristow take money from? Is there any line Monica Bristow won’t cross to collect checks to fund her campaign of lies?”
Elik added that Moylan, Halpin And Manley all voted in 2019 for SB 25, the Reproductive Health Act, which requires private insurance to cover abortions and repealed parts of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. Bristow voted against the bill.