An affiliate of Democrats for Life of america
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ABOUT US

Democracy for Life of Illinois (DFL-IL) is a statewide organization for members of the Democratic party who consider themselves to be pro-life. Our organization exists to foster respect for human life, from the beginning of life to natural death. This includes (but is not limited to) opposition to abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia.

Our overall focus is to help support both the pro-life movement and the Democratic Party in a variety of endeavors, including running for (and staying in) elected office, promoting sensible pro-life legislation, and working toward the inclusion of a reasonable pro-life plank within the Democratic Party platform.

We also seek to act as advocates for women (and their families) who find themselves in crisis pregnancy situations, regardless of their social or economic status (see quotes below). By placing our focus on making abortion less necessary (rather than stigmatizing women who face painfully difficult health decisions), we hope to encourage respect for life for everyone involved in a crisis pregnancy.

We are NOT an explicitly religious (or non-religious) organization, nor are we interested in promoting any ideology without reasonable dialogue. We look forward to working with interested people and organizations (including Republicans and the pro-choice community) to come to rational and practical legislative compromises that benefit women, children, and the community at large.

We welcome the participation of anyone who considers themselves pro-life and is supportive of the ideals of the Democratic Party.

 

 

 

OUR OFFICERS

David Seiler (President) is a life-long resident of southern Illinois. He is an instructor of history at Lake Land College in Mattoon, IL, and has an M.A. degree in history from Eastern Illinois University. Dave has been a precinct committeeman in Effingham County, IL since 1998, and is a former Chair of the Effingham County Democrat Central Committee (2001-2005). Dave lives in Effingham, IL with his wife and three children.

Jane Schuette (Vice-President) is also a life-long resident of southern Illinois. She is currently retired after serving 16 years as the Effingham County Circuit Court Clerk. She is also former Democratic precinct committeeperson for Effingham County, IL. Jane and her husband, Bob have three grown children and enjoy their twelve grandchildren.

Jim Rago (Secretary) was born and raised in the Chicago area. He is an assistant professor of biology at Lewis University in Romeoville, IL, and has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Minnesota. Jim currently lives in Plainfield with his wife and three children and serves as a Democratic precinct committeeman in Will County, IL.

Jay Ware (Treasurer) is a former member of the advisory board for Democrats for Life of America. Jay lives in Rockford, IL with his wife and three children.
Text Box: If you would like to become a member of DFL-IL, click here. If you live in Illinois, you will automatically Text Box: There are also those who are genuinely pro-life, who believe that life beings with conception, that life is the ultimate value, and who therefore support prenatal care, postnatal care, health insurance for poor children, and early childhood education, and who oppose the death penalty, war, and so on. They also recognize that any woman choosing to end a pregnancy is making a painful decision, and empathize with such women and treat them without a negative judgment. These are pro-life progressives...They are not conservatives who use the question of ending pregnancy as a political wedge to gain support for a broader moral and political agenda.  From Dont Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff Text Box: Learn more about The 95-10 Initiative, a comprehensive package of federal legislation and policy proposals that will reduce the number of abortions by 95% in ten years. Text Box: The 95-10 Initiative is built around seventeen concrete policy proposals that would reduce the numbers of abortions. In announcing their plan, the pro-life Democrats said their goals are to empower women, to defend pregnant women, and to protect unborn children. The pro-life Democrats have concluded that the thirty-two year fight to overturn Roe v. Wade hasn't stopped a single abortion. So they've decided to change tactics. Rather than trying to reduce the number of abortions by making an abortion more difficult to have, they want to reduce the number of abortions by making abortions less necessary to have. From Take It Back by James Carville and Paul Begala Text Box: The DFL-IL Advisory Board Carol Crossed Kristen Day Joseph Shannon

THE DFLA CONSENSUS STATEMENT

 

While there is a wide spectrum of beliefs within DFLA about both the causes of, and solutions for many social problems (most notably, those within the particular areas of concern for DFLA), the following Consensus Statement represents the ideals that DFLA and all of its state chapters support:

 

(1) Every child has a right to be born, the right to a quality education, the right to accessible health care, and the liberty to pursue happiness.

(2) Roe v. Wade was a wrongly decided court decision.

(3) Abortion is not a human right.

(4) Both goals of changing laws to protect the unborn and changing the social landscape to protect pregnant women will reduce abortion.

(5) Both goals stated above are valued equally.

(6) DFLA does not oppose contraception, however, DFLA does oppose contraception that is abortifacient.

(7) DFLA endorses full funding of cord blood cell, umbilical cord, amniotic fluid, and adult stem cell research as an alternative to embryonic stem cell research that destroys human embryos.

(8) DFLA members believe abortion is morally wrong in cases of rape and incest, and pledge emotional, psychological, and social support for pregnant women in carrying their children to term in these instances.

 

All state chapters must support the platform and the consensus statement of DFLA. State chapters may also support a variety of other issues (provided that other-issue focus does not consume more than 50% of the time and resources of the state chapter). However, these issues must fall within the purview of, and must not be in opposition to Consistent Life, a network of human rights organizations (of which DFLA is a member group).