Jill Stanek (born 1956) is an American

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

activist and nurse from Illinois best known for saying " live birth

abortions Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

" were being performed at Christ Hospital in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn and the premature 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 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 An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

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 history * ...

in 2002, President George W. Bush 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 current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

in 2002, on an

platform, but was defeated. Since 2003, Stanek has been a regular columnist for '' WorldNetDaily'' 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 a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the U.S. by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its SBA List ...

, an anti-abortion organisation.

Criticism of Barack Obama

Stanek generated national news during the 2008 Presidential campaign when publicizing Barack Obama'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 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, August 21, 2008

Personal life

Stanek lives in Mokena, Illinois. She and her husband Richard have three children.

References

External links