Illinois Right to Life has removed their approval rating for Democratic House District 111 candidate Joe Silkwood, saying he seeks to deceive voters by claiming to be both pro-choice and pro-life on the topic of abortion.
“The appearance of deception on the part of Mr. Silkwood seems to indicate that, if elected, he will be a legislator who has no problem attempting to deceive his constituents,” said Amy Gehrke, executive director of Illinois Right to Life and spokesperson for Illinois Right to Life Action (IRLA).
According to a press release, Silkwood signed an IRLA candidate questionnaire on April 6, answering that he is 100 percent pro-life. As a result, he received IRLA’s highest candidate rating in their voter guide for both the June 28 primary election and the Nov. 8 general election.
However, during a public forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on Oct. 5 in Edwardsville, Silkwood instead told the crowd that, "I absolutely 100 percent support women’s rights,” when talking about the issue of abortion.
Republican incumbent Rep. Amy Elik said Silkwood is desperately trying to appeal to both sides.
“Joe Silkwood has committed the ultimate desperate campaign act - deceiving voters based on what he thinks they want to hear,” Elik said. People deserve the truth, not his brand of double-speak, especially on such an important topic as his views on abortion.”
As a result of Silkwood’s conflicting statements, his candidate rating on IRLA’s voter guide has been dropped.
“It is clear that Joe Silkwood is attempting to fool pro-life voters by saying that he cares about preborn babies, their mothers, and minor girls who can now receive abortions without their parent’s consent while, at the same time, telling pro-choice voters that he believes women should be able to have abortions for any reason, at any time,” Gehrke said.
Silkwood did not respond to a request for comment.