Illinois diocese and pregnancy center file appeal over state hiring law

The Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, and the Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford, a pregnancy resource center in the state, have filed an appeal against an Illinois nondiscrimination law that would require them to hire employees that support abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the Diocese of Springfield and Pregnancy Care Center of Rockford in challenging the Illinois Human Rights Act.

• The plaintiffs say the law would require them to hire employees that do not espouse their religious beliefs or pro-life views.

• The case was dismissed by a judge in March, prompting the appeal to the 7th Circuit Court.

The Details:

The plaintiffs in the case are represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which filed an opening brief with U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in early June. They are challenging a state law that would require them to hire employees that do not share their religious beliefs on important issues like abortion.

The lawsuit was initially filed in March 2025, but dismissed by a court in March 2026, after U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer said there had been no effort to enforce the law against the plaintiffs, therefore the harm they fear "is for now, hypothetical."

Pallmeyer's ruling prompted ADF to file its appeal, arguing that the threat of enforcement “constitutes an injury-in-fact,” which therefore gives them standing to sue.

Zoom In:

The law at the center of the case is the Illinois Human Rights Act. As ADF previously explained in a news release:

The Illinois Human Rights Act dictates how religious employers must speak and act regarding employees’ voluntary reproductive decisions like abortion and contraception. The law penalizes churches and religious organizations if they discipline or refuse to hire employees based on voluntary reproductive decisions like abortion, even when the religious entity considers the act murder of innocent life.

Attorneys for the plaintiff contend the law violates “their rights to expressive association, free exercise of religion, religious autonomy, free speech, and equal protection under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”

ADF is fighting a similar battle in Michigan, where it filed suit on behalf of the Plaintiffs in Right to Life of Michigan v. Nessel. ADF noted in a press release earlier this year:

Michigan amended its employment law to re-define “sex” discrimination to include “the termination of a pregnancy.” It is now illegal for Right to Life of Michigan and Pregnancy Resource Center to recruit and hire only those employees who share these organizations’ pro-life views and who agree to refrain from engaging in conduct contrary to those views.

Going further, the law also requires these organizations to offer abortion coverage in their insurance plans in direct conflict with their very mission. As a result, the law threatens their ability to advocate for their pro-life views and to serve women and families in need consistent with their beliefs.

The Bottom Line:

“Illinois can’t force pro-life religious organizations to bend the knee to the state’s secular view of abortion,” said ADF Senior Counsel Caroline Lindsay. “The Constitution protects the right of religious ministries to choose messengers who will advance—rather than contradict—their pro-life mission and religious beliefs. We urge the court to uphold these ministries’ fundamental rights to determine their own membership and message so they may serve their communities consistent with their faith.”