(The Center Square) – More than 1,000 people attended the Illinois Right to Life March in Springfield on Wednesday.

In attendance was a former gubernatorial candidate who called recently passed House Bill 4867 a “death bill.”

Jesse Sullivan, who ran in the Republican primary for governor in 2022, criticized House Bill 4867, which amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to include “reproductive health decisions” as a human right.

“The first human right is to life and we know anything that goes against that is a falsehood and ultimately of the devil,” said Sullivan. “If you are going to say, ‘you’re going to kill young babies in the womb,’ and you’re going to start forcing people to abide by that and live by that, we as taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for people to kill young children.”

State Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, is a sponsor of the bill, and said the bill gives Illinoisans the freedom to consider and make whatever reproductive health decisions they wish without the fear of discrimination or retaliation in the context of housing, employment, public accommodations, education and financial credit.

“The Dobbs decision two years ago held that the Constitution doesn’t confer a right to abortion and returned the authority to regulate reproductive decisions to the states,” said Moeller on the House floor Tuesday. “Various existing laws are now being reexamined in light of this changing constitutional jurisprudence and new needs are emerging.”

Moeller was questioned on the House floor Tuesday by state Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Harrisburg. Windhorst voted ‘no’ on the bill.

“It’s my understanding that organizations that have a religious affiliation would be exempt under the definition of a religious organization,” said Moeller. “If a crisis pregnancy center fell under that designation then they would be exempt if not, then they would not be.”

Speakers at the Right to Life March on Wednesday urged the crowd to email legislators to vote no on HB4867, which has now arrived in the Illinois Senate. Opponents say if enacted, pregnancy care centers would not be allowed to hire only individuals who oppose abortion.

Several Republican legislators, including state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Cherry Valley, were in attendance. Syverson left the microphone and chanted with the crowd the word “life.” Sullivan called on Illinois Republicans to not be like “Stephan Douglas.” In the 1800s, Douglas accused Abraham Lincoln of being an abolitionist while Lincoln accused Douglas of wanting to nationalize slavery.

“We have people in the Republican party saying, ‘No this needs to be a states’ rights issue,’ taking the role of Stephen Douglas … when really we need to be in the role of Abraham Lincoln. Slavery is wrong and abortion is wrong and the killing and murdering of children is wrong. We have to be bold in proclaiming that truth and that’s why I am here [at the rally] today,” said Sullivan.

Speakers at the rally said if the bill is enacted, Christian schools would not be allowed to hire only those teachers who share and willingly communicate the school’s beliefs about the sanctity of human life.

Senate Bill 3492, a similar measure to HB4867, would amend the Illinois Human Rights Act and awaits to be assigned to committee.