Chris Butler, a pastor of a local church and graduate from Northeastern Illinois University, offered the comments in an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday before his primary election in the state.
Implementing certain concepts around his pro-life leanings, Butler announced he believes in a "life-affirming value."
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"When I looked at the over representation of poor people and people of color in abortion rates, it more closely mirrored the things we were working against than the things we were working for," Butler announced, reflecting on time he spent working on justice matter throughout his community. "You see the same old representation that you see in incarceration rates, that you see in poverty rates, that you see in, you know, lack of educational attainment. That was a real red flag for me. It made me begin to think this might be something that is more a tool of injustice than a tool of justice."
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"I just think it's very, very important that we do not offer abortion as a solution to things like poverty, housing, and equity," he went on. "These are issues I have learned over years as a community leader, over years as a pastor, these are things that force women into situations of even desiring an abortion. We have to protect the sacred life in the womb that I think most Americans know is a life, a human life, and is a valuable human life."
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Butler, whose pro-life values stem from within his church and his mother and grandmother, stated he thinks that the Supreme Court made the right decision in overturning federal protections for abortion granted in the 1973 landmark case Roe v. Wade.
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"I think that the Supreme Court ruling is a step in the right direction," he announced. "It does not take us the whole mile … but we have an obligation, those of us who will be in the legislature, and really every citizen, to make sure we continue to push forward … to protect and honor the value of life at every stage of life."
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Butler, who is endorsed by the Susan B. Anthony List and the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, stated the matter surrounding abortion is "going to show up" in primary elections. "Democrats like me, who are running in primary races and being open about the idea of protecting pre-born life are going to find that people in our communities really do understand this fact."