Jill Stanek (born 1956) is an American

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

activist and

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

best known for saying " live birth

abortions Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnanci ...

" were being performed at Christ Hospital in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

suburb of Oak Lawn and the

premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...

infants were being left to die in a utility room.

Career

After witnessing a car accident, Stanek studied nursing, gaining a degree in nursing in 1993. She began working at Christ Hospital in

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It shares borders with the ...

after graduating, spending two years in a cardiac ward before moving to a maternity ward.

Christ Hospital controversy

Stanek gained initial prominence in 1999 when she testified that, while she worked at Christ Hospital, infants that survived induced labor abortions were abandoned to die in a utility room. These allegations led to a formal investigation by the Illinois Department of Public Health, which stated that the hospital violated no state laws. A Christ Hospital spokesman admitted "that between 10 percent and 20 percent of fetuses with genetic defects that are aborted survive for short periods outside the womb." Shortly thereafter, Advocate Health Care changed its policy on induced labor abortions, barring its use against fetuses with non-lethal developmental issues. Stanek was fired by Christ Hospital in 2001, for allegedly "taking photographs inside the hospital and misrepresenting the hospital on a television program." At the signing ceremony for the

Born-Alive Infants Protection Act The Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 ("BAIPA" , ) is an Act of Congress. It affirms legal protection to an infant born alive after a failed attempt at induced abortion. It was signed by President George W. Bush. Legislative histor ...

in 2002, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

named Stanek in his speech, publicly thanking her for being in attendance. Stanek ran for the Republican nomination for the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

in 2002, on an

platform, but was defeated. Since 2003, Stanek has been a regular columnist for ''

WorldNetDaily WND (formerly WorldNetDaily) is an Radical right (United States), American far-right news and opinion website. It is known for promoting fake news and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama Barack Obama ...

'' and her analysis and opinions are frequently referenced in the context of the abortion issue.R Byron (2006) ''Children of a lesser law: The failure of the born-alive infants protection act and a plan for its redemption'', Regent University Law Review 19(1): Stanek quotes/statements cited in footnotes 2 through 6, 13, etc. and her testimony is discussed starting on pp 279. As of 2017, Stanek was the national campaign chair of the

Susan B. Anthony List Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting United States anti-abortion movement, anti-abortion poli ...

, an anti-abortion organisation.

Criticism of Barack Obama

Stanek generated national news during the 2008 Presidential campaign when publicizing

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's four votes against Illinois' Born Alive Infants Protection Act while state senator, as well as his state senate floor testimony. She posted a vote tally on her blog showing that, during a March 12, 2003, meeting of the Illinois State Senate's Health and Human Services Committee, Committee Chairman Barack Obama prevented the passage of an amendment to Bill 1082 that would have conveyed "the rights of

personhood Personhood is the status of being a person. Defining personhood is a controversial topic in philosophy and law and is closely tied with legal and political concepts of citizenship, equality, and liberty. According to law, only a legal person (ei ...

upon any fetus expelled or extracted from the womb if that fetus was capable of breathing or voluntary motion."Obama’s rejection of 2003 abortion bill comes to forefront

Eric Zorn Eric Zorn (born January 6, 1958) is an American former op-ed columnist and daily blogger for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who specialized in local news as well as politics. Early life and education Zorn is a graduate of the University of Michigan, whe ...

, August 21, 2008

Personal life

Stanek lives in

Mokena, Illinois Mokena ( ) is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. The population was 19,887 at the 2020 census. The Census Bureau's 2019 estimate found that the population had increased to 20,159. Etymology ...

. She and her husband Richard have three children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanek, Jill 1956 births American bloggers American columnists American women nurses American anti-abortion activists Illinois Republicans Living people People from Mokena, Illinois American women bloggers Women in Illinois politics 21st-century American non-fiction writers American women columnists 21st-century American women writers Nurses from Illinois WorldNetDaily people