The Illinois Federation for Right to Life has endorsed Rich Morthland in the February 2 Republican Primary for State Representative in the 71^st District of the Illinois Quad Cities and Northwestern Illinois. “As an adoptee, this endorsement means the world to me,” said Morthland. “I look forward to working in Springfield and while doing so, perhaps helping someone whose entry into the world is similar to mine. I oppose abortion because of science. A woman’s body rejects everything with genetic material different from her own except for her unborn child. My wife, an Epidemiologist, is my scientific advisor. Moreover, I am the adopted son of a loving married couple who strived to conceive for 10 years unsuccessfully before they welcomed me. Thanks to the sacrifice of my birth mother, Mom and Dad gave me the life that She could not provide at that time. I am the recipient and beneficiary of a double portion of maternal love. I cannot disserve such devotion.”

Morthland is unopposed in the February 2 Republican Primary and will face the winner of a three-way Democrat contest in the November General Election. The 71^st District includes most of Rock Island County upriver of I-74 and approximately the western halves of Henry, Whiteside, and Carroll Counties.

Information about the Illinois Right to Life candidate survey and responses to it are available at http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org/. For more information about the Morthland campaign, visit www.electmorthland.com or call 309/654-2229. Contact Marjie Tyner, Morthland Campaign Pro-life Coordinator at Marjie.electmorthland@gmail.com.