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Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President & CEO of Americans United for Life will appear live on Geraldo Rivera’s radio show this morning at 11:38 a.m. ET. If the show is not available in your area, click here to listen live.

AUL President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest will appear on Gov. Mike Huckabee’s radio show today around 2:18 p.m. ET.
If you don’t have a local affiliate you can listen to the show live on www.ksfo.com or http://www.1050talk.com/.

Below are tweets from AUL President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest discussing Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as hi running mate.
Congratulations to pro-life stalwart @reppaulryan for #MittVP pic!#prolife Pro-life IS an economic issue.
— Charmaine Yoest (@CharmaineYoest) August 11, 2012

My reax to @reppaulryan VP pic:Tax subsidies for abortion and Obamacare abortion mandate make the Life issue an economic one. #prolife
— Charmaine Yoest (@CharmaineYoest) August 11, 2012

High praise indeed:RT@jljacobson.@reppaulryan, as anti-choice and anti-woman as you can possibly get @mittromney’s VP pick
— Charmaine Yoest (@CharmaineYoest) August 11, 2012

No longer a looming deadline, the Obama Administration’s anti-life, conscience-killing mandate goes into effect today.  Your First Amendment guarantee of freedom of conscience is taking a hit, regardless of whether or not your insurance plan is one of the mandate’s August victims.
Last year, the Obama Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the clear influence of Planned Parenthood, announced that it was defining the “preventive services” provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to include “all FDA approved contraceptives.” As AUL has repeatedly documented, adopting such a broad definition forces private health insurance plans to fully-cover, without a [...]

In a David-versus-Goliath moment this week, a small, family owned business won a pivotal victory against the federal government in a dispute over the Obama Administration’s implementation of the healthcare law.
A federal district court granted a preliminary injunction Friday in Newland v. Sebelius, one of the dozens of cases challenging the Obama Administration’s “contraceptive” mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “Faced with a choice between complying with the ACA or complying with their religious beliefs” plaintiffs, a family-run business in Colorado, brought the lawsuit against the mandate.
This David v. Goliath event in which a private, family-owned business pushed back [...]

The tragic death of 24-year old Tonya Reaves from injuries received during an abortion at a Chicago Planned Parenthood clinic underscores the need for federal and state investigations into the abortion giant, but also highlights the urgent need for abortion clinics to be held to the same medical and regulatory standards as other facilities performing outpatient surgeries.
Currently, 28 states license and/or regulate (to varying degrees) facilities performing abortions. However, only three of those states – Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia – require abortion clinics to meet the same patient care and safety standards as surgical centers or hospitals.
For more than [...]

Be sure to retweet the tweets below based on information from here. Just click the retweet link on each tweet.
Obamacare fails to prohibit use of federal tax $ for abortion, abortion & and abortion-inducing drugs/devices buff.ly/LDzHK8 #prolife
— AUL (@AUL) July 16, 2012

Obamacare pretends that the Hyde Amendment protections were enough to prohibit direct payment for abortions buff.ly/LDzHK8
— AUL (@AUL) July 16, 2012

Obamacare permits federally-subsidized Qualified Health Plans to provide abortion coverage through state exchanges buff.ly/LDzHK8
— AUL (@AUL) July 16, 2012

Obamacare fails to prohibit all multi-state qualified health plans from providing coverage for abortion buff.ly/LDzHK8 #prolife
— AUL (@AUL) July 16, 2012

Obamacare [...]

Americans United for Life provided testimony on June 15 before the Virginia State Board of Health in support of groundbreaking clinic regulations to protect the health and safety of women undergoing first trimester abortions in clinics across the state. In 2011, Virginia adopted temporary abortion clinic regulations for any facilities in which five or more first trimester abortions per month are performed, holding them to standards applicable to “hospitals.” The Board of Health met in June to vote on proposed permanent regulations.
Addressing the board, AUL attorney Evangeline Jones highlighted the critical need for the new regulations, citing women’s health and [...]

Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  In an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court held that the “individual mandate”—the provision that requires nearly all Americans to purchase insurance or pay a penalty—is permissible under Congress’ tax power.  Further, the Court held that the ACA’s dramatic expansion of Medicaid funding is constitutional, so long as States are not penalized for rejecting the expanded funding.  As explained in more detail below, the Court’s decision did not address any of the abortion-related provisions in the law; further, the decision is not an endorsement of [...]

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You can be a witness to history this Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court issues its decision on Obamacare.
We are asking you to join us at the Supreme Court building in Washington to make sure that the court, the media, and everyone else knows that you oppose taxpayer-funded abortion. As you witness this historic event, you can express your views that healthcare should include life-affirming principles by helping Americans United for Life with our efforts.
We will be holding up “Life Counts” signs outside the Supreme Court building Thursday morning starting around 7:30 a.m. and continuing until the decision is announced—likely [...]

Forced by a court order, Oregon taxpayers have paid for abortions for women receiving public assistance since 1984.[i] Millions of dollars have been lost to abortion.
Since the court’s interference, Oregon has struggled to enact meaningful limitations on abortions, including funding restrictions supported by most taxpayers.  One-third of all abortions in Oregon are paid for by taxpayers, according to the Oregon 2012 Petition Committee.  From 2003 to 2009, that amounted to $11.1 million in state taxpayer dollars spent on 26,000 abortions.
But Oregon taxpayers are fighting back.
Pro-life Oregonians are currently seeking signatures to get Citizen Initiative #25—a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit public funding for most abortions [...]

Amanda Marcotte’s latest diatribe against the pro-life movement for its concerns about so-called “emergency contraception” is an extraordinary piece of fiction.  An attempt to deny any life-ending capacity of these drugs and devices, Ms. Marcotte’s article is an exercise in all the things she charges her opponents with: ignoring science, making unjustifiable emotional appeals, and lying.
Ms. Marcotte boldly contends that, “It has never once been in dispute that [emergency contraception] works by preventing pregnancy instead of terminating it.”  The problematic use of hyperbole (her article is obviously designed to contribute to a “dispute” about how so-called “emergency contraception” works) is [...]

In an effort to head off a new “right” to state-assistance in suicide, Americans United for Life (“AUL”) filed a brief with the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) in a case concerning a Swiss woman’s efforts to end her life.  Earlier this year, the ECHR granted AUL’s motion to intervene, and AUL’s brief was filed a few days ago.
“No nation has an obligation to help its citizens commit suicide.  We hope a ruling in this case will make that clear beyond argument,” said William Saunders, Senior Counsel at AUL.
In prior cases, the ECHR indicated there was no general right to assisted suicide [...]

Today, Americans United for Life filed an extensive comment with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding the agency’s abuse of the “preventive services” provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to create a life-ending drugs coverage mandate and the failure of the Obama Administration’s supposed “accommodation” to protect freedom of conscience.
When the “preventive services” provision was first proposed in December 2009, AUL immediately warned that it would be exploited by the abortion industry to mandate abortion coverage in private health insurance plans and urged Congress to add statutory language to address the problem. However, Congress utterly failed [...]

Before an international audience, Americans United for Life recently premiered an international study modeled on Defending Life, AUL’s guidebook to pro-life legislation and policy. AUL Senior Counsel William Saunders and attorney Evangeline Jones presented “Defending the Human Right to Life in Latin America” at the World Congress of Families in Madrid, Spain.
The World Congress has been holding meetings throughout the world for several decades to create partnerships and share strategies to win victories for life in every country.  Since 2009, AUL has been a participating partner. During this year’s event, held May 25-27, AUL networked with more than 3100 delegates, from over 80 nations.
This new AUL publication, “Defending the [...]

Within the next two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), President Obama’s controversial healthcare law.  One of three outcomes is likely:  (a) the Court will uphold the entire law; (b) the Court will strike down the entire law, holding that certain provisions are unconstitutional; or (c) the Court will strike down one or more provisions of the law as unconstitutional— such as the requirement that most Americans obtain insurance and related provisions—while permitting the rest of the law to stand.
Given the range of possible outcomes, two important questions must [...]

Yesterday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed The Child Protection Act (House Bill 16) into law.   This protective new law is based, in significant part, on model legislation developed by AUL’s Vice President of Legal Affairs Denise Burke, a former state and federal prosecutor.
Developed in 2007, AUL’s innovative Child Protection Act helps ensure that all cases of suspected sexual abuse of minor girls are reported to state authorities and imposes strict penalties upon anyone who is found to be circumventing or attempting to circumvent these reporting requirements.  Further, by requiring that forensic tissue samples be turned over to state officials when [...]

Americans United for Life Presents a Luncheon Symposium – From Planned Parenthood v. Casey to the “Day After Roe” : Casey’s Impact on Abortion Jurisprudence

Missouri State Senator Scott Rupp made this tweet:
It was an honor to introduce @CharmaineYoest Pres/CEO Americans United for Life @AUL in Missouri Senate yesterday.Thank you 4 all you do!
— Senator Scott Rupp (@Scott_Rupp) May 3, 2012

Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder made the following tweet on Twitter today:
Great to meet & discuss #ProLife issues yesterday w/ @AUL Pres Dr. @CharmaineYoest & VP of Gov Affairs Daniel McConchie twitter.com/PeterKinder/st…
— Peter Kinder (@PeterKinder) May 3, 2012

Americans United for Life Vice President of External Affairs and Corporate Counsel Jeanneane Maxon will testify later today regarding a New Hampshire resolution commending the work of pregnancy care centers.
The resolution is part of an effort from Americans United for Life and Care Net to recognize the life-changing work of pregnancy care centers that offer “compassionate and confidential counselling in a nonjudgmental manner regardless of their pregnancy outcomes,” said Maxon
The details of the hearing are as follows:
Who: Jeanneane Maxon, Vice President of External Affairs and Corporate Counsel for AUL Action
What: Testifying about HCR31
When: Thursday, 5-3-12, at 1:00 pm
Where: LOB 102 [...]

Rep. Renee Ellmers used Twitter to congratulate AUL President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest on a Missouri House resolution honoring her:
Congratulations to AUL’s @CharmaineYoest for being honored by the Missouri House bit.ly/KuGNvN #prolife
— Rep. Renee Ellmers (@RepReneeEllmers) May 2, 2012

On Wednesday, May 2, Dr. Charmaine Yoest, president & CEO of Americans United for Life will testify in front of the Missouri House Health Care Policy Committee in a public hearing on HB 1933, the Ban on Abortion for Reasons of Sex Selection or Genetic Abnormality.
This hearing will take place at Noon in Jefferson City at the State Capitol. This will be the first bill on the agenda for this day. It is expected that the Committee will meet in their normal location, House Hearing Room 6 (in the basement level of the Capitol building). The State Capitol building is [...]

Anna Franzonello of AUL will participate in a live webcast sponsored by Students for Life tonight at 9 p.m EDT. The topic of the webcast is “How to Get a Job in the Pro-Life Movement.”
You can listen to the webcast live here. You can also listen via Skype here. You can also call in
to either (305) 908-8631 or (804) 205-3697 and use 402116# for your conference ID.

In honor of what would have been Thomas Jefferson’s 269th Birthday, pictures from inside the offices of Americans United for Life.

Dr. Charmaine Yoest commended the Arizona Legislature that yesterday passed a ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on AUL Model Legislation, calling the measure “a life-protecting bill designed to ensure that women don’t suffer from the risks of a dangerous, late-term procedure.” This is the first state in the country to pass a late-term ban based on concerns over protecting women’s health by demonstrating that abortion is not only bad for the unborn child, it is also bad for women.
The bill now goes to Governor Jan Brewer for signature.
“The abortion industry’s war on women has left many [...]

On Tuesday, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), H.R. 2299 by a vote of 20 to 13.  CIANA would: (1) prevent a non-parent—an abuser, a parent of a minor’s boyfriend, or someone else—from transporting a minor across state lines to avoid complying with a parental involvement law in the minor’s state of residence, and (2) require parental notification of a minor’s parents when the minor seeks an abortion in a state that is not her state of residence.
CIANA is needed to protect minors in states where the enactment of parental involvement laws is [...]

While abortion advocates fought tooth and nail in their failed attempt to derail the life-saving Virginia ultrasound legislation, they haven’t given up the fight even though the bill is now law.
Gov. McDonnell’s Facebook page has become a battleground for carrying on the debate. Despite the emphasis being on the supposed ‘problem’ with requiring an abortionist to perform an ultrasound prior to an abortion, the debate strayed this week into other, more ominous areas.
As you can see from the screen shot below, the debate careened into advocating for destroying children with Down’s syndrome because allowing them to live is “very cruel [...]

Last Friday afternoon—in its now predictable style of making controversial, anti-life announcements late Friday afternoons when most of the media have gone home and Americans are preparing to relax for the weekend—the Obama Administration announced another ruse to appear concerned with Americans’ freedom of conscience, even though it still fully intends to implement its coercive life-ending drug mandate that forces Americans to violate their deeply held religious beliefs and moral convictions.
The Administration’s ploy this time came by issuing an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM or “Notice”) regarding the life-ending drug mandate issued under the healthcare law.  The Administration outlines [...]

For years, the United Nations, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and other abortion proponents have claimed that legal abortion contributes to reducing maternal mortality and to improving women’s health. Abortion advocates argued that the affects of abortion were negligible, while pregnancy could be dangerous.
In fact, one of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Goal 5, is to improve maternal health by 2015, and legalizing abortion in developing countries is part of UNFPA’s strategy.
But a report published in Ireland in December contradicts that essential premise.  The report, entitled Ireland’s Gain, published December 15 by the Pension And Population [...]

Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President & CEO of Americans United for Life, made the following comments about the upcoming film October Baby:
“What a remarkable movie. This is a significant story, beautifully told. October Baby manages to take a story that begins with loss and grief and weave together an uplifting and inspiring look at redemption and the true meaning of love. It’s even funny too. It’s really a wonderful movie.”
Watch a trailer for the movie below or for more information visit the October Baby website.

The Alabama Supreme Court unanimously held that the court’s September 2011 decision in Mack v. Carmack, WL 3963006 (Ala. Sept. 9, 2011), extending the scope of Alabama’s wrongful death statute, includes the unborn child from the point of conception. Americans United for Life has supported these legal developments in the courts and in state and federal legislatures since the 1970s.
In addition, in footnote 3 on page 13, the Justices cite the “Declaration of Rights” in the Alabama Constitution as a basis for their decision:  “we note that this Court’s holding in Mack is consistent with the Declaration of Rights in [...]

Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stood by its decision to ensure that women have the ability to receive all “truthful, non-misleading” information available to them before choosing an abortion, and denied the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR)’s request for a new hearing regarding the Texas ultrasound law.
On January 10, 2012, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s injunction against a newly enacted Texas ultrasound law’s enforcement, and issued a unanimous decision upholding the law.  The Court’s decision to allow the ultrasound law to go into effect ensured that women will receive [...]

Over the past week, the nation witnessed the vicious and intense attacks that Planned Parenthood unleashed on Susan G. Komen for the Cure, one of the nation’s leading organization dedicated to finding life-saving treatment for women with breast cancer.  Planned Parenthood and its allies tried to portray Komen’s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood as “political” to evade the truth: the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and its affiliates have a sordid and documented history of engaging in a pattern of deception and abuse.
Importantly, it is these known abuses at Planned Parenthood that triggered an investigation by the U.S. [...]

Noting that the Obama Administration’s “contraceptive” mandate continues to draw intense criticism, an article on Politico today stated, “The problem illustrates the complexities of Obama’s election-year calculus: Walk back the decision, and enrage women voters, a group he must woo to win reelection. Stick to it, and risk inflaming Catholics, a critical swing bloc that he can’t afford to lose too badly.”
However, this characterization— that the issue is one of Catholics v. women— misses the mark.  These are not mutually exclusive groups. My faith and my gender are not at odds on the Obama Administration’s mandate that private insurance plans [...]

Today the Obama Administration added insult to injury, announcing that it would give some religious nonprofits an additional year to “adapt” to its coercive mandate that nearly all insurance plans provide coverage for the abortion-inducing drug ella.  Essentially, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that these employers have one more year to get their priorities straight and align their consciences with the anti-life agenda of the Obama Administration.
Secretary Sebelius stated the “extension” for nonprofit groups with a religious-based objection to providing coverage for “contraception,” was “the appropriate balance” for “respecting religious freedom.”
Putting an expiration [...]

Planned Parenthood has long claimed that legal abortion promotes maternal health. But a report published in Ireland in December contradicts that notion. The report, entitled Ireland’s Gain, published December 15 by the Pension And Population Research Institute (PAPRI) of London, shows positive women’s health trends, and positive population trends, while Ireland’s restrictive abortion law has been enforced over 40 years.
The study compares the populations living in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland with those in Scotland and England (where abortion laws are much more permissive), and examines women’s health indicators and trends between 1969-2009.
The report examines [...]

Last week, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals asked AUL to re-file an amicus brief detailing the risk of suicide following abortion.  The request came as part of the Circuit’s extremely rare move to rehear arguments on South Dakota’s law requiring that women be informed of the risk of suicide that can follow abortion (“suicide advisory”).
AUL originally filed the brief two years ago on behalf of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and other medical organizations, detailing to the appellate court the testimony and medical evidence heard in the lower court [...]

AUL President & CEO Charmaine Yoest will be on Washington Journal on C-SPAN Monday morning at 7:45. Please check your local listings for cable or satellite channel information. You can also watch it online live at C-SPAN.org (click here for the direct link.)

You are cordially invited to attend the premiere of the new documentary by Gov. Mike Huckabee and Citizens United called The Gift of Life. It is an inspirational documentary that explores the sanctity of life as a moral issue and looks at the lives of individuals on the front lines of the Pro-Life movement in America, including those who were nearly victims of abortion.
AUL President & CEO Charmaine Yoest is interviewed in the film.
Here are the details:
The Gift of Life
December 14, 2011
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. | Program begins at 7:00 p.m.
Hoyt Sherman Place
1501 Woodland Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50309
Republican presidential [...]

In one of the most recent acts of social imperialism by the United Nations, the CEDAW Committee determined that Peru must compensate a girl for being denied an abortion and liberalize its abortion policies.
This is only the most recent example of a United Nations committee overstepping its bounds to incorrectly imply that there is an international human right to abortion. This is simply not the case, as the recently published San Jose Articles point out.
The San Jose Articles are a declaration by the world’s most prominent human rights lawyers, advocates, diplomats, professors, legislators, and leaders – including AUL’s Senior Vice [...]

The following blog post at LifeNews.com was written by William Saunders and Mary Novick, both of AUL:
The fight for legal recognition and protection of the unborn child is not fatally diminished by the recent rejection of the Mississippi personhood initiative. In fact, there have been multiple victories for the recognition of the unborn child as a person under the law across the country this year, and there is a winning strategy in place to continue setting legal precedent for personhood.
During this legislative session, North Carolina became the 37th state to protect the unborn child [...]

Wouldn’t it be nice if, by some act of magic, a law that endangers unborn children could be transformed into a life-affirming statute?  Unfortunately, such magic does not exist; in fact, not even an order written by the President can modify language passed by Congress and signed by the President.
In an email written by then-Justice Department employee and well-known Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, to then-Solicitor General (now Supreme Court Justice) Elena Kagan on the day that the Affordable Care Act passed the House of Representatives, Tribe gushed “[s]o health care is basically done!  Remarkable. And with the Stupak group [...]

There was a great deal of news coverage recently featuring AUL both before and after the vote on Measure 26 in Mississippi last week. A sampling of that coverage is below.
Clarke Forsythe was interviewed by Sarah Kliff of the Washington Post:
“Mississippi should caution people about using abstract, broad language for state constitutional amendments,” says Clark[e] Forsythe, senior counsel at Americans United for Life, the country’s oldest antiabortion organization. Caution “will be taken by some and not taken by others. That’s what happens in social movements: There’s no regulatory order.”
Forsythe has repeatedly questioned the strategy of sweeping amendments like the one [...]

Sarah Kliff of The Washington Post interviewed Clarke Forsythe today in a discussion on the failure of Measure 26 in Mississippi yesterday.
From the story:
“Mississippi should caution people about using abstract, broad language for state constitutional amendments,” says Clark Forsythe, senior counsel at Americans United for Life, the country’s oldest antiabortion organization. Caution “will be taken by some and not taken by others. That’s what happens in social movements: There’s no regulatory order.”
Forsythe has repeatedly questioned the strategy of sweeping amendments like the one pushed in Mississippi. But he also does not see the strategy disappearing from the larger antiabortion movement.
Click [...]

John McCormack of Weekly Standard explores the issues behind why Measure 26 failed to pass in Mississippi yesterday:
By a 59 percent to 41 percent margin, Mississippi voters defeated a measure Tuesday that would have amended the state’s constitution to hold: “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.” But the defeat should not be taken as a “major setback” for abortion opponents. The amendment did not have the backing of major pro-life groups, such as National Right to Life Committee and Americans United for Life, or major [...]

Photographs from AUL’s 40th Anniversary Gala on November 2, 2011 at the Newseum in Washington.

An article by Fred Barnes in the November 7 issue of The Weekly Standard features reporting on AUL.
From the article:
Opponents of abortion are rarely interviewed on television these days. “It’s much harder to get on TV than it used to be,” says Charmaine Yoest, who heads Americans United for Life. Bookers of guests for news shows tell her, “We don’t want to talk about abortion. We’re tired of it.”
[...]
Stearns was appalled at PP’s “manipulating this young 15-year-old girl to get an abortion.” He was also impressed by a report on PP by Americans United for Life (AUL). It cited eight [...]

An op-ed by AUL Senior Counsel Clarke Forsythe appeared in The Washington Times
The Alabama Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last month in a case called Mack v. Carmack might surprise some Americans.
The court held that an unborn child at any time of pregnancy is a person protected by Alabama’s wrongful-death laws. Wrongful-death statutes – which virtually every state has – allow family members to sue for money damages for the death of a “person.”
In reaching their decision, the justices relied on the fetal-homicide (unborn victims of violence) law passed in Alabama in 2006, reasoning that because the fetal-homicide law – sort [...]

The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has challenged Oklahoma’s new law (HB 1970) which requires that physicians examine a woman before dispensing dangerous abortion drugs like RU-486, thereby banning “telemed abortions”—the provision of abortion drugs over the internet or via teleconference.  The law is based on AUL’s “Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act.”
The law was championed by Representative Randy Grau and Senator Greg Treat in Oklahoma, who saw the need to reign in the misuse of abortion drugs that has caused numerous deaths around the world.
In the United States alone, at least fourteen women have died following use of RU-486.  Eight of [...]

In its response to Denise Burke’s September 30, 2011 op-ed in the Washington Times, Media Matters relies on misleading statistics, peddled by Planned Parenthood in an effort – as Ms. Burke noted – to rehabilitate its increasingly damaged reputation.
Noticeably, Media Matters’ response does not attempt to refute the majority of Ms. Burke’s article in which she demonstrates that contrary to Planned Parenthood’s claims, laws prohibiting the abortion provider from receiving taxpayer funds do not “take health care away” from women.  In particular, Media Matters does nothing to counter, as Ms. Burke’s notes that, “According to its own statistics, Planned Parenthood [...]

Politifact has never refuted the fact that “the [Government Accountability][1] Office reported last year that it couldn’t determine how much federal funding Planned Parenthood received.” Rather, Politifact’s assessment has confirmed this fact as reported by AUL in “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood.”
In Poltifact’s attempt to dismiss a different charge, that there could be “missing” money, it recounted the various ways – offered by Planned Parenthood Spokesman Tait Saye – in which the GAO Report would necessarily fail to capture the extent of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding.[2]
For example, according to Politifact and Planned Parenthood Spokesman Saye, “Planned Parenthood sometimes gets [...]

Some of the news coverage from this week at the links below.
Associated Press: GOP to Planned Parenthood: Hand over records
Washington Times – BURKE: American women don’t need Planned Parenthood
Legal Times – Planned Parenthood Turns to Hogan Lovells for Congressional Probe

National leaders and political luminaries will join together in November to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Americans United for Life — the nation’s premier pro-life legal team and the country’s first national pro-life organization — incorporated in 1971 before the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. The high profile event is already marked by an impressive list of pro-life leaders serving as honorary hosts of the much-anticipated evening.
Among the evening’s highlights, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell III will memorialize his father L. Brent Bozell, Jr. of National Review who was among the prominent pro-life leaders who founded AUL, [...]

In a unanimous decision[1] last Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court expanded legal protections for the unborn child when it ruled that Alabama’s wrongful death statute applied to the unborn child at any stage of development. This means that an offender can be tried civilly for the death of an unborn child regardless of viability.
April Mack was 12 weeks pregnant with Baby Mack in September 2007, when she and her fiancé were in a car accident that later resulted in the miscarriage of their unborn child. April Mack sued the drivers for injuries she incurred and also for the wrongful death [...]

Americans United for Life (AUL), a national public interest law and policy organization defending human life through vigorous legislative, judicial, and educational efforts, seeks highly-qualified and motivated law students to serve as legal externs during the Fall and Spring semesters each year. The externships are unpaid and may be undertaken for credit (as approved by the extern’s law school) or to fulfill other graduation requirements.
Qualifications
• Excellent legal research and writing skills.
• Demonstrated initiative and attention to detail.
• Ability to work with minimal direct supervision. Candidates are not required to be in the Washington, D.C. area, but must be available by telephone and email.
Duties [...]

The August 15, 2011 edition of The Christian Science Monitor features a profile of AUL President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
An excerpt from the story:
With an easy laugh and ample charm, Charmaine Yoest doesn’t at all appear to be Public Enemy No. 1 for the pro-abortion rights community. But the foundation of her rising influence – the accessibility of her approach – becomes clear when she settles in for an unexpectedly frank conversation about the stunning 2011 antiabortion legislative juggernaut that she has helped orchestrate.
This mother of five – who is not a physician, attorney, or lawmaker – has set [...]

Monday’s Christian Science Monitor features a profile of AUL’s Charmaine Yoest as the cover story:
With an easy laugh and ample charm, Charmaine Yoest doesn’t at all appear to be Public Enemy No. 1 for the pro-abortion rights community. But the foundation of her rising influence – the accessibility of her approach – becomes clear when she settles in for an unexpectedly frank conversation about the stunning 2011 antiabortion legislative juggernaut that she has helped orchestrate.
This mother of five – who is not a physician, attorney, or lawmaker – has set the stage for sweeping antiabortion victories at the state level [...]

It is not a tiny minority that stands in opposition to the Obama Administration mandate that nearly all insurance plans cover the “full range of FDA approved contraception.”  In fact, more Americans oppose the Obama Administration’s mandate than support it. 
As a Rasmussen poll reveals, 46% oppose forcing “contraceptive” coverage, while only 39% approve.  This fact is a vast contrast to mainstream media coverage of the “preventive services” mandate, which would instead lead one to believe the mandate was welcomed with open arms by nearly everyone except a few stodgy, old Catholic bishops.  
The issue is not one of women versus [...]

Americans United for Life supporters offered special vacation package deal
Dr. Charmaine Yoest will join a Who’s Who of policy and media luminaries later this year for a cruise sponsored by National Review, bringing together notables from across the political spectrum so that they can mingle, speak and vacation with all those looking for a unique experience.
If you would like to combine high seas adventure with in-depth discussions, vibrant social events and informative policy sessions from award winning authors, leaders and commentators, this event is for you.
Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest will be featured as a [...]

Anna Franzonello recorded an interview with CBS News earlier this week that appeared on local news broadcasts across the country. The above video is the news story that includes Franzonello.
Additionally, Politico and the American Spectator reported on this subject.

In its attempt to “debunk” the claim that an abortion drug is included in the “preventive services” mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Media Matters ignores a glaring fact:  ella – a drug that is chemically similar to the FDA-approved abortion drug RU-486 – is included in the mandate. 
Unlike Plan B, which is a progestin-based drug, ella is – just like RU-486 – a selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM).  This means that though indicated as “contraception,” ella works the same way as RU-486, not Plan B.[1]  By blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary to build and maintain [...]

In her article, “House Committee Votes to Reinstate Global Gag Rule (Again) and Other Misogynistic Amendments,” Ms. Jodi Jacobson suggests that “today’s GOP and Tea Parties” will ignore “evidence” in order to “pass a law undermining women’s access to healthcare.”    However, Ms. Jacobson’s article—full of rhetoric and lacking “evidence”—grossly mischaracterizes the Mexico City Policy’s purpose and effect.  Moreover, Ms. Jacobson is out-of-step with the majority of Americans who disapprove of their tax dollars being used to support abortion.
Contrary to Ms. Jacobson’s claim, the Mexico City Policy does not undermine women’s access to health care.  Rather, the policy ensures that taxpayer [...]

Anna Franzonello, staff counsel for AUL, will be on the Patt Morrison Show this afternoon at 2:40 p.m. Pacific Time (5:40 p.m. Eastern). David Lazarus is filling in for Morrison today. Franzonello will discuss yesterday’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations on “preventive services for women.” For more information on today’s show, click here.
The show airs on multiple FM stations of Southern California Public Radio including 89.3 KPCC, 89.1 KUOR, and 90.3 KPCV.
To listen live online, click here.
Related:

AUL Press Release: As AUL predicted: Abortion Advocates Controlled Development of the Health Care Coverage Every American will be forced to Buy
LifeNews: [...]

Kellie Fiedorek, staff counsel for AUL, will be on Fox 5 News this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. EDT. (Check your DC area cable or satellite listings for the channel number.)
Fiedorek will discuss yesterday’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations on “preventive services for women.”
To view this broadcast live online, click here.
Related:

AUL Press Release: As AUL predicted: Abortion Advocates Controlled Development of the Health Care Coverage Every American will be forced to Buy
LifeNews: IOM Decision May Force Americans to Have Pro-Abortion Health Care
AUL blog: NPR and Planned Parenthood Mislead on “Preventive Care”
NPR: Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory
AUL blog: Upcoming HHS [...]

NPR’s “Birth Control Without Copays Could Become Mandatory” gravely misleads its audience on the extent of pro-life Americans concerns about the health care reform law’s “preventive care” mandate including all FDA approved contraceptives.
Though noting one so-called “emergency contraceptive,” Plan B, can prevent implantation of a human embryo, NPR fails to discuss the other FDA approved so-called emergency contraceptive, ella, which can kill a human embryo even after implantation.
ella is not, as the NPR article claims, different from the abortion pill mifepristone.  Unlike Plan B, which is a progestin-based drug, ella is – just like mifepristone – a selective progesterone receptor modulator [...]

Long decried as false, President Obama’s assurance that “if you like your [insurance] plan… you can keep your plan,” may become even more untrue for Americans who want to keep their pro-life insurance plans after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issues regulations on “preventive care” for women that will apply to all insurance plans.  The HHS regulations are slated to be issued before August 1, and will be based on a recommendation that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will announce this Wednesday.  It seems likely that regulations will mean more money for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest [...]

At the cost of women’s health and safety and with a benefit to its bottom-line, Planned Parenthood has been rapidly increasing its use—and its misuse—of dangerous chemical abortions.
The FDA has recorded thousands of reported instances of serious adverse events, including death, following chemical abortions.  Concern for women’s health and safety is heightened when considering the known inadequacies of what is being reported to the FDA about chemical abortions and that the FDA’s reporting system captures “only a small proportion of events that actually occur.”
Creating more alarm is the fact that abortion-providers – including Planned Parenthood – are openly flouting the [...]

In her article “The Silly Calls for Congress to Investigate Planned Parenthood,” Sarah Morice-Brubaker claims her audience are those who are “noncommittal” in debates about abortion.  However, Ms. Morice-Brubaker does an injustice to her readers, asking them to “speculate” with her on whether the heavily-subsidized abortion provider should be investigated, but ignoring–and mischaracterizing–the weight of evidence against Planned Parenthood highlighted in AUL’s Report, The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood.
Below, AUL responds to some of Ms. Morice-Brubaker’s misleading statements, and answers a few of her questions.

“[T]here are suggestions that something wicked must be afoot because Planned Parenthood is increasing its (as [...]

From today’s Washington Times:
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which receives about $1 million a day in taxpayer funds, should be investigated by Congress, a group of House Republicans said in a Capitol Hill event Thursday.
“We have got to shine light on this situation and get the facts out to the American people,” said Rep. Renee L. Ellmers, North Carolina Republican, adding that a 174-page report by Americans United for Life on the “scandal and abuse” in Planned Parenthood sparked interest in such an investigation.
The report is “a blueprint for action,” said Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican and [...]

Life News reports on the conference:
Tomorrow, AUL officials will hold a press conference with Rep. Renee Ellmers, a North Carolina Republican, and Rep. Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican, who have invited other members of Congress to join them in calling for a congressional probe of the abortion giant.
The Other McCain blog also discusses the news conference:
Reacting to a new report about the taxpayer-funded activities of Planned Parenthood, Rep. Renee Ellmers has warned her House colleagues of “systemic fraud and abuse” by the nation’s largest abortion provider.
A first-term North Carolina Republican, Ellmers will be joined by fellow [...]

Today, a federal judge in New York enjoined the enforcement of a discriminatory ordinance targeting pregnancy centers. The ordinance was enacted by the New York City Council at the instigation of abortion advocates and sought to require pregnancy centers to make mandatory disclosures about services they provide and those they do not provide including abortion and so-called “emergency contraception.”
U.S. District Court Judge William H. Pauley III found that the risk of discriminatory enforcement under the ordinance, Local Law 17, is “high” because the ordinance involves abortion and “emergency contraception,” what the Judge Pauley termed “among the most controversial issues [...]

There is an old lawyer’s adage: When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the law is on your side, argue the law. And when you don’t have either the law or the facts on your side, pound the table!
On July 7th, Americans United for Life released its in-depth report — “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood” — which thoroughly documents the assertion that Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is a scandal-ridden abortion provider that receives over $360 million dollars in federal and state funding — over $1 million a day from the American taxpayer. [...]

Kellie Fiedorek, Staff Counsel for AUL, will speak about AUL’s Special Report: The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood today during the noon (eastern time) hour at The Bloggers Briefing sponsored by The Heritage Foundation.

National Catholic Register
Local government funding of 300 abortions in the District of Columbia made taxpayers complicit in a moral wrong that ended lives, pro-life critics said.
When a congressional ban on abortion funding was lifted from 2009 to 2011, the District of Columbia paid for at least 300 abortions at a cost of $185,000 using local taxpayers’ money, The Associated Press reports.
In 2009, President Barack Obama’s administration put forward an altered version of the ban which declared that its prohibition on funding applied only to federal tax money, not funds raised locally. It also [...]

This post was written by AUL Legal Fellow Katie Croghan.
“In attempting to ensure that a woman apprehend the full consequences of her decision, the State furthers the legitimate purpose of reducing the risk that a woman may elect an abortion, only to discover later, with devastating psychological consequences, that her decision was not fully informed.” – Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, June 29, 1992, Supreme Court
On July 6, 2011 Louisiana’s governor, Bobby Jindal, signed into law House Bill 636 to more fully inform women of their rights before they decide to receive an abortion.
The new law requires that [...]

In the wake of yesterday’s release of AUL’s special report on Planned Parenthood, Politico Pulse ran the following item today:
The day after the AUL memo dropped, PULSE reached out to Rep. Cliff Stearns, who chairs E&C’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee to see whether he’s planning a hearing on the issue. The short answer: maybe. “I believe my Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee should review the findings of this report and possibly hold a hearing on why taxpayers are funding Planned Parenthood with its record of abuse and violations of state laws,” Stearns told PULSE in a Thursday statement. “The American people [...]

The Hill
Americans United for Life has released a report making the case for an investigation of Planned Parenthood.
Click here to read the full report.

LifeNews.com
AUL staff combed through 20 years of Planned Parenthood financial data and the report documents the known and alleged abuses by Planned Parenthood, including the misuse of federal health care and family planning funds, failure to report criminal child sexual abuse, failure to comply with parental involvement laws, assisting those in engaged in prostitution and/or sex trafficking, and dangerous misuse of the abortion drug RU-486.
The pro-life group poses questions aimed at uncovering the depth of the problems within Planned Parenthood and substantiates, synthesizes and gives clear direction for members of Congress to thoroughly investigate the abortion business.
Click here to read [...]

Washington Whispers at U.S. News
An anti-abortion group’s new probe of Planned Parenthood charges that the family planning organization has doubled its abortion business with a doubling of taxpayer support and fails to report instances of suspected child abuse.

The report, provided to Whispers, is being released tomorrow by Planned Parenthood’s arch-critic Americans United for Life, which says that it is the compilation of over 20 years of investigations. The group hopes that it will push the state-level attempts to cut Planned Parenthood funding onto the national stage.
“Before other organizations have been defunded, they have often been investigated to determine if they [...]

Jill Stanek
The momentum for defunding Planned Parenthood at the state level is about to go national.
Today Americans United for Life is releasing the report, “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood,” which analyzes the scandal-ridden abortion provider that taxpayers support with over $363 million annually.
AUL’s report, following years of legal research of more than 20 years of records, documents the known and alleged abuses by Planned Parenthood, including the misuse of federal health care and family planning funds, failure to report criminal child sexual abuse, failure to comply with parental involvement laws, assisting those in engaged in prostitution and/or sex [...]

The American Spectator
A shocking new report from a leading pro-life organization “documents the known and alleged abuses by Planned Parenthood,” providing evidence for a congressional probe of the nation’s largest abortion provider.
“[S]ubstantial evidence … appears to show a systemic and organization-wide pattern of violating federal and state laws,” charges The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood, the new 181-page report by Americans United for Life.
The report represents a major push by social conservatives to put the abortion issue — and especially federal funding for Planned Parenthood — into the congressional spotlight, which recently has been dominated by fiscal issues because of the debt-ceiling [...]

Politico Pulse
FIRST IN PULSE: AUL LOBBIES FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD INVESTIGATION – Americans United for Life kicks off the morning with a push for a Congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood. They’re sending members a nine-page talking points memo titled “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood,” detailing the group’s federal funding and alleging “misuse of federal health care funds” and “failure to comply with parental involvement laws.” In an accompanying letter, obtained by PULSE, the group writes, “The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood — intended to be a tool for Congress to use in investigating the nation’s largest abortion provider — documents [...]

Planned Parenthood promotes itself as “many things to many people,” but as the Americans United for Life Report documents, they are a scandal-ridden, heavily-subsidized abortion provider.

The AUL Report:
• Demonstrates that as Planned Parenthood has become more heavily subsidized by the government, Planned Parenthood has simultaneously become more abortion-saturated.

• Reveals how Planned Parenthood has failed to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars; affiliates in multiple states have been exposed for overbilling government health care programs.

• Exposes how Planned Parenthood is far outside the mainstream, opposing and ignoring common-sense laws designed to protect women and girls. For example, in 2009, the Alabama Department of Public Health issued a report stating that Planned Parenthood staff at a Birmingham, Alabama abortion clinic “failed to obtain parental consent for 9 of 9 minor patients in a manner that complies with state legal requirements.

Let us draw inspiration from the actions of the Polish Parliament last week in the overwhelming vote to totally outlaw abortion. There is hope!
Last week the Sejm – the lower chamber of the Polish Parliament – voted to outlaw all abortions in a landslide vote of 254 to 151 with 11 abstentions. This great legislative victory rode on a great wave of support from the grassroots, with over 600,000 signatures that were gathered in just the two weeks before the vote. Among the supporters for this legislation are OBGYNs, journalists, and lawyers.
With this vote, the people hope to reclaim Poland [...]

Late on Friday, June 24, 2011, District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt issued a preliminary injunction against a part of Indiana’s law, HEA 1210, that prohibits Indiana agencies from contracting with or making grants to abortion clinics.  Though the decision means the law is currently suspended, the case — initiated by Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) — is likely to be appealed.
Planned Parenthood’s claim that the Indiana law “is violative of [Medicaid’s] freedom of choice requirements,” should fail upon appeal because Indiana’s law, HEA 1210, respects the right of Medicaid patients to freely choose among qualified Medicaid providers.  Federal law [...]

Dr. Charmaine Yoest and Denise Burke, both of AUL, penned an op-ed in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
An excerpt from the piece:
The state of Indiana—and, by extension, 49 other states and the American taxpayer—is under siege from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s abortion super-provider, and its allies in the Obama administration. Indiana is being threatened with the loss of federal funding for health care and being held up to scorn as having “declared war on women.”
Indiana’s crime? Last month it became the first state to prohibit all health-care contracts with and grants to any “entity” that performs abortions or [...]

A pro-abortion website is targeting women in pro-life countries like Poland, Ireland, Malta and others for distribution of the abortion drug, RU-486. The goal of this website is to undermine pro-life laws and to reduce maternal mortality due to “unsafe abortions.”[1]
Womenonweb.org directs women through an online questionnaire, where they answer questions about gestational age etc. Then this organization will ship abortion drugs to the women in these pro-life countries, where the woman will take the drugs at home. The physician disseminating the drug does not physically examine the woman before sending her the drug, nor is he/she available should complications [...]

A recent Gallup poll has characterized American opinion on abortion as more “polarized” than in the past.  However, examining the poll results, America is more accurately described as continuing to reject abortion-on-demand.  And as Gallup notes, “Over the past two decades, Americans have consistently leaned toward believing abortion should be legal in only a few or no circumstances… .”
What Gallup terms the “extreme” views on abortion – supporting or opposing legal abortion with no exceptions — does not tell the whole story about Americans continued rejection of abortion. 
According to Gallup, its results found for the “first time since 2008” that [...]

AUL has had several successes in the last 24 hours as state legislatures hit crunch time where bills are either passed or passed over for the year.

Nebraska: The legislature just passed AUL’s opt-out of the abortion mandate in the federal health care law. Many thanks to Senator Beau McCoy and his tireless efforts to see this bill through the process despite an extensive filibuster attempt. The bill is now headed to Governor Heineman who is expected to sign the legislation.

Still in Nebraska: LB 690, Senator Lydia Brasch’s priority bill that would upgrade Nebraska’s parental notification to parental consent, finally [...]

Yesterday, AUL’s Dan McConchie testified on three pro-life bills in Maine. Click here to listen to his testimony.
Some of the media coverage of the hearing is excerpted below.
The Kennebec Journal discusses the legislation, the hearings, and mentions AUL’s support:
L.D. 116, sponsored by state Rep. Tyler Clark, R-Easton, imposes a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion, except in the case of a medical emergency. L.D. 924, sponsored by state Rep. Eleanor Espling, R-New Gloucester, requires that government-approved information, yet to be developed, must be read and handed over in writing to women seeking an abortion at least 24 hours before the [...]

Freedom of conscience is a core American principle.  It is a principle that a strong majority of Americans believe is important to apply to the health care profession.  While attacks against health care providers’ conscience rights are on the rise, several pieces of federal legislation – including H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (which will be debated and voted on by the House of Representatives this week) – seek to ensure that the basic civil right to provide care, without violating one’s conscience, is protected.
According to poll results released today, for 77% of American adults it is [...]

The State Column published this article Sunday:

OK Senate advances measure to regulate abortion-inducing drugs
The state Senate on Tuesday approved legislation that would require physicians to administer abortion inducing drugs in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. Co-authored by Sen. Greg Treat, House Bill 1970 will protect patients and promote life.
“I’m pleased to have the support of my colleagues in advancing legislation that will defend life and help ensure the safety of women,” said Treat, R-Oklahoma City. “It’s important these drugs are subject to appropriate regulation under the law. Of the eight reported deaths associated with abortion-inducing drugs [...]

Daniel McConchie, AUL’s Vice President of Government Affairs, will be speaking to the Georgetown Law School chapter of Advocates for Life on Friday, April 29 at 12 noon. The speech will be in Hotung 1000.
McConchie’s will speak on “The Life or Death Politics of Stem Cell Research.”
For more information on Stem Cell Research, see Defending Life 2011.
Click here for more information on Advocates for Life.

Former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson testified on April 26, 2011 before the Texas Senate on behalf of legislation that would further regulate abortion-causing drugs, such as RU486. The measure, HB 3408 and SB 1790, was inspired by model legislation developed by Americans United for Life and sponsored by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg and Sen. Dan Patrick.
Abby Johnson’s Testimony before the Texas Senate on SB 1790 on April 26, 2011(function() { var scribd = document.createElement(“script”); scribd.type = “text/javascript”; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = “http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

We previously wrote about speeches that AUL’s William Saunders gave in North Carolina and Massachusetts. The Charlotte Observer wrote about the North Carolina speech and that story is embedded below.
Saunders spoke to the St. Thomas More Scholars of Belmont Abbey College on April 6. The topic was “Assisted Suicide: Courage, Compassion, and the Truth.”
Saunders in the Charlotte Observer(function() { var scribd = document.createElement(“script”); scribd.type = “text/javascript”; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = “http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js”; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

Recently, PolitiFact has disputed the numbers that describe just how intertwined Planned Parenthood’s operations are with the practice of abortion.  But, PolitiFact has taken a stronger stance than Planned Parenthood is willing to about figures accounting for its pregnancy-related services.  Planned Parenthood Vice President for Communications Stuart Schear merely called it an “unverifiable statistic.”
One point of contention in the calculation of its treatment of pregnant women is “Planned Parenthood doesn’t keep track of [prenatal care] referrals.”
Up until twelve years ago, Planned Parenthood not only tracked prenatal care referrals, but it included the figure in its annual reports.
In 1994 Planned Parenthood [...]

How would you feel if you learned that your state government was promoting a medical procedure to your teenage daughter – one that carries risks of blood clots, infection, pelvic inflammatory disease, injury to her cervix (including cervical lacerations), injury to her other organs, future miscarriages and complicated pregnancies, infertility, hysterectomy, hemorrhage, depression, anxiety, increased risk of future drug and alcohol abuse, and even death (from the procedure or suicide) – and was coaching her on how to avoid informing you or seeking your permission to obtain it?  As preposterous as it may sound, the State of Massachusetts is doing [...]

Last week, AUL Senior Vice President & Senior Counsel William Saunders addressed three audiences to discuss various topics.
On Friday, Saunders spoke to the Society for Law, Life, and Religion at Harvard Law School. The topic was “Freedom of Conscience At Risk around the World.”
A recent column by Saunders published by The Catholic Thing also covered the issue of conscience rights. For more information on this subject, click here.
Earlier in the week, Saunders spoke to the St. Thomas More Scholars of Belmont Abbey College. The topic was “Assisted Suicide: Courage, Compassion, and the Truth.”
This past Saturday Saunders spoke on “Why Doctor-Prescribed [...]

LifeNews.com reports on budget negotiations Friday and attempts to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood:
New reports issued today on the exchanges between pro-abortion President Barack Obama and pro-life Speaker John Boehner show Obama refused to agree to Boehner’s demand to cut Planned Parenthood funding.
For over an hour on Friday, Boehner kept lobbying Obama to agree to some kind of funding cut. However, according to Bloomberg News, after Obama agreed to reinstate a ban on taxpayer funding of abortions in the District of Columbia, he refused to cut any taxpayer disbursements to the abortion business.
“Nope, zero,” he told Boehner when the [...]

Kellie Fiedorek, Staff Counsel for AUL, will be interviewed on the Don Kroah Show tonight at 6:15 p.m. on WAVA-FM.
WAVA can be heard locally in the Washington, D.C. area on 105.1 FM or you can listen live on the internet by clicking here.

William Saunders, Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President at Americans United for Life, is speaking Saturday at the MCFL 2011 Convention being held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m at the Boston College Law School.
Saunders will speak on “Why Doctor-Prescribed Death Should Not Be Legalized.”

William Saunders,  AUL’s Sr. Vice President and Sr. Counsel, will speak on campus at Harvard Law School on Friday April 8 at 12 noon.
Saunders, an alumnus of Harvard Law, will speak before the Society for Law, Life, and Religion, which is a chapter of Advocates for Life. A recent project of Advocates for Life was the creation of a Constitutional Law & Abortion Primer.
The topic of the speech will be on “Freedom of Conscience At Risk around the World.”
For more information on starting a chapter of Advocates for Life at your law school, send a message to advocates@aul.org.

Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online pens a column today entitled “Planned Parenthood’s Pink in Hot Water.”
Lopez discusses recent news and events related to Planned Parenthood as well as providing plenty of good background information on the group.
AUL President & CEO Charmaine Yoest is featured in the column:
“Isn’t it interesting that the president of Planned Parenthood reacted like the high-priced $600K/year CEO that she is, by talking about their ‘brand’?” Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, reacts to the brand concern. She’s concerned too: “There’s no denying that Planned Parenthood has a strong brand — they are [...]

Willam Saunders, Senior Vice President & Senior Counsel for AUL, will speak on “Assisted Suicide: Courage, Compassion, and the Truth” at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina. The presentation is sponsored by the St. Thomas More Scholars of Belmont Abbey College.
Saunders will speak in the Haid Ballroom from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, 2011. A campus map can be found here (PDF.)

CBS News today reported on pro-life legislative efforts at the state level.
From the piece:
The anti-abortion rights movement last year found itself in a set of circumstances that have all worked to advance their agenda. Most importantly, states across the country elected new, emboldened conservative politicians. Hundreds of anti-abortion rights legislators and a net of 12 new anti-abortion rights governors were elected, according to Americans United for Life.
Meanwhile, a set of news-making events in the past year — such as the passage of health care reform and video of the conservative “sting” on Planned Parenthood — galvanized conservative activists. National leaders [...]

In the March 4 edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Psychiatric News, the APA announced that it had joined an amicus curiae brief filed in an Illinois state court, opposing the state’s parental notification law and attempting to directly counter an earlier brief filed by Americans United for Life (AUL).
It seems that AUL’s brief hit a nerve with the APA, drawing the pro-abortion organization to not only join an opposing brief, but to also publicly acknowledge that it is specifically responding to AUL’s brief. That brief, filed last fall on behalf of a number of Illinois legislators, argued that [...]

The Idaho Senate voted Friday 31-2 to pass SB 1070, a ban on physician assisted suicide that is based on the AUL model bill. AUL State Director Christ Troupis and Idaho Chooses Life Executive Director David Ripley were instrumental in promoting the bill’s passage.
Senator Russ Fulcher led the debate on the floor where he discussed that the legislation would maintain current medical practice in the state and clarify existing common law on the subject. In recent months, we have become aware that Compassion & Choices, formerly the Hemlock Society, has a person working in the state who is reportedly looking [...]

1. In at least two courts and in multiple media outlets, abortion providers have admitted to purposely distributing RU-486 to women contrary to the way in which it was tested and approved by the FDA.
( See, e.g., Planned Parenthood Cincinnati Region v. Taft, 459 F. Supp. 2d 626, 630 n.7 (S.D. Ohio 2006); Planned Parenthood Arizona Inc. v. Goddard, Minute Entry, CV 2009-029110 (Super. Ct. Ariz., Maricopa County Feb. 17, 2010); Faraway doctors give abortion pills by video, Des Moines Register (May 16, 2010), available at http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=140688&catid=188 (last visited Jan. 26, 2011); Planned Parenthood to Offer Abortion Pills, State Journal-Register [...]

Each year, AUL publishes Defending Life: A State-by-State Legal Guide to Abortion, Bioethics, and the End of Life.
This annual resource manual combines our model legislation, expert analysis, and 50 state report cards into a single nonpartisan guide for legislators, policy makers, the media, and interested Americans. It comprehensively addresses abortion, protection of the unborn (in contexts outside of abortion), bioethics, the end-of-life, and health care freedom of conscience, expertly tackles legal and policy challenges for the pro-life movement, and reports on recent legislative and courtroom victories, continuing progress toward protecting life in each [...]

Americans United for Life congratulates its 2011 Fellows:
Katie Croghan, University of Georgia School of Law
Bradley Kehr, Georgetown University Law Center
Amy Pedagno, Ave Maria School of Law
The AUL Fellowship Program offers Fellows a challenging and rewarding summer in our Washington D.C. offices and first-hand experience working to protect life through state, federal, and international laws. Through an intensive mentorship program, AUL prepares the next generation of attorneys to effectively communicate pro-life values through law and policy, to draft defensible legislation, and to engage in an effective litigation practice.
Applications for the 2012 Fellowship Program will be accepted beginning in November 2011.

There have been a number of recent news stories and blog posts discussing AUL’s “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act,” model legislation that ensures that a pregnant woman and her unborn child are protected from unlawful criminal violence and that a woman’s decision to carry her child to term is respected.    Unfortunately, many of these stories reveal fundamental misunderstandings of the express terms of the “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act,” the scope and application of criminal law, and the purposes and intent behind this legislation.
MYTH: The “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act” will “protect vigilantes” and be used to excuse or justify their crimes.
TRUTH: The [...]

I was very sorry to hear of Tom Donnelly’s death last Monday. I have missed my conversations with Tom since I last talked with him last June. Tom Donnelly was an urbane gentleman, accomplished lawyer, wise counselor, and careful financial steward. He often took the long view of organizational development and demanded frank analysis. His 20 years of service as an AUL board member are a testament to his diligent oversight and prudence. In the 20 years I have known Tom, our conversations were highlighted by his insightful observations, infectious laugh, and expressions of love and pride for his [...]

Tulsa World
Last year, the state Legislature overrode then-Gov. Brad Henry’s veto to enact a law that requires women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound within an hour of the procedure and have the results orally explained.
That law was put on hold after Reproductive Services of Tulsa filed a lawsuit challenging the legislation’s constitutionality.
It was one of seven bills passed during last year’s session that restricted abortion, earning the state a No. 1 ranking this year in the Americans United for Life’s annual “Life List.”Grau said abortion “is the moral equivalent of slavery, if not worse.”
The large number of bills introduced [...]

An obituary from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Thomas Joseph Donnelly, who founded Federated Investors with two Central Catholic High classmates and was active in Catholic and community causes, died Saturday at a Lawrence, Mass., nursing home from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 85.
Mr. Donnelly’s practice of law in Pittsburgh was interrupted in 1955 when he started Federated with John Donahue and Richard B. Fisher, also members of the Central Catholic class of 1942.
Mr. Fisher said Mr. Donnelly’s contributions early on included convincing banks and other investors to put money into the new company’s money [...]

Americans United for Life responded to Mother Jones & Huffington Post yesterday.
Others in the media reported on this same story since then. Excerpts and links are below.
LifeNews.com:
Americans United for Life is the sponsor of the model language South Dakota legislators relied on for their controversial bill — but the lawmakers made changes to the bill that went beyond the scope and intent of the model language AUL put together.
Still, that didn’t stop the pro-abortion publications from attacking the pro-life group.
The American Spectator
Over the past two years, several states have enacted legislation intended to punish criminal violence against pregnant women, and [...]

At the 2011 Meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the International Protect Life Commitee announced that Chile had received the International Protect Life Award. AUL’s William Saunders was a signer of the letter announcing the award that was delivered to the President of Chile. The letter can be found at the bottom of this post.
From the Committee’s news release:
Over 30 NGO leaders active at the United Nations praised Chile for having the lowest maternal mortality rate in all of Latin America.  In a communication to President Piñera announcing the group’s decision to designate its International Protect [...]

Americans United for Life Vice President of Legal Affairs Denise Burke noted that the anti-life media once again got their facts wrong in reporting on AUL’s “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act.”  AUL’s groundbreaking model legislation seeks to ensure that a pregnant woman and her unborn child are protected from criminal violence and that her decision to carry her child to term is respected.  Specifically, the model legislation was drafted in direct response to the well-documented and growing problem of pregnancy-related violence against women.
“Leave it to the anti-life lobby to claim that model legislation that shows respect for the choice a woman [...]

“Telemed abortions” have made headlines in the last year, and with that attention AUL has received numerous requests from state legislators and policy groups seeking to curb the practice. While this issue is so “hot,” states have the perfect opportunity to protect women by regulating the provision of abortion-inducing drugs.
Abortion Providers Misuse Abortion Drugs
Planned Parenthood and abortion providers misuse RU-486, and they do not hide this misuse. In at least two courts and in multiple media outlets, abortion providers have admitted to providing RU-486 to women well outside the directions contained in the drug’s label.
For example, RU-486 is only to [...]

Remarks of William L. Saunders at the Annual Briefing of the DIIFSD during the 49th session of the CSD in New York (United Nations), February 11, 2011:
Ladies and Gentlemen –
I am pleased to be here today as a representative of those members of civil society who participated in the conference on “Empowerment of the Family in the modern world: challenges and promises ahead”, which was sponsored by the Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development, and was held in Doha, Qatar, in January 2010.
The conference drew upon distinguished scholars, governmental officials, and representatives of NGO’s from around the world [...]

The photographs below are from the Washington, D.C. Vigil for Victims held in conjunction with vigils nationally on February 14, 2011. To see the individual photographs, click here.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

On January 20, 2011, two pieces of legislation that would prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortions and abortion coverage were introduced in the House of Representatives.  Both bills are scheduled for committee hearings this week.
I. H.R. 3:  “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”
H.R. 3, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” was introduced by Pro-life Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL).
H.R. 3 would establish a permanent government-wide prohibition on federal funding for abortions and abortion coverage. The bill would also codify conscience protections for health care providers who do not want to [...]

The abortion industry is certainly prolific in its ability to find new ways to destroy human life.  And each “innovation” puts more women at risk.
Notorious abortionist, James Pendergraft, now performs a new method of late-term abortion in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The procedure is called a “fetal intra-cardiac injection.” Using a sonogram, the abortionist guides a spinal nettle through the woman’s abdomen into the unborn child’s heart and injects poison or air to stop the baby’s heart from beating. Once the abortionist kills the baby, he leaves the woman on her own to visit her personal doctor or a [...]

Pictures from January 24, 2011. They include pictures from AUL’s President’s Council Breakfast with special guest Rep. Renee Ellmers, pictures from the March itself, and pictures from an Advocates for Life reception that evening featuring Jeanneane Maxon and George Weigel.

The above picture was taken outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building today during the 2011 March for Life.

Volunteers from AUL are handing out signs on the National Mall right now in preparation for today’s March for Life. Here’s a picture from outside the Smithsonian Metro station.

AUL staff and volunteer are already hard at work making preparations for today’s March for Life.
Rep. Renee Ellmers joined us this morning for a President’s Council breakfast and volunteers are already making preparations for putting together and distributing signs for the march.
The picture below is of AUL staff and volunteers grabbing a quick bite to eat before putting signs together. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the day.

Wednesday’s arrest of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a West Philadelphia abortionist, for the murders of a pregnant woman and seven newborn infants and the blatant failure of Pennsylvania health officials to enforce the state’s existing abortion clinic regulations, underscore the need for more stringent regulation of abortion clinics and for more consistent and meaningful enforcement of these regulations by state officials.
On both February 18 and February 23, 2010, federal agents raided Gosnell’s abortion clinic, the Women’s Medical Society, and found “deplorable and unsanitary” conditions including blood on the floors; parts of aborted children stored in jars; post-operative recovery areas that consisted [...]

The rate and number of abortions in the United States has been in decline since peaking in 1990, but the Guttmacher Institute issued a report this week that this decline has “stalled.”  The  memo below evaluates the data presented by the Guttmacher report.  The data demonstrates that Planned Parenthood’s business model – in particular, the use of chemical abortion drugs and increasing both the size and number of abortion providers – appears to be designed to increase abortions.  This is more evidence why we must defund Planned Parenthood.
You can download a copy of the memo by clicking here. For AUL’s [...]

AUL’s President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest will be among those attending events today marking the swearing in of now Speaker-elect John Boehner, giving her a front row seat to a historic shift of power and the proper vantage point to engage in one of Washington, D.C.’s favorite pastimes – prognostication.
With that in mind, AUL notes that coming first, fast, and furious will be GOP efforts to repeal and replace President Obama’s bloated pro-abortion health care law. Already liberal pundits are attacking any efforts to curtail the unpopular piece of legislation. But AUL attorneys note that the health care law [...]

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) allows federal tax dollars to directly subsidize insurance plans that cover abortions. This contravenes existing law.  The most well-known examples of the prohibition on the use of federal tax dollars to subsidize insurance plans that cover abortions are the Hyde Amendment which applies to programs funded through the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) appropriations bill and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).
The PPACA only prohibits the use of certain funds to directly pay for abortions, leaving open the possibility (which has been demonstrated by recent events) that other authorized funds [...]

A review of 2010 state legislative sessions across the country and legislation enacted that impacted Life issues.

William Saunders of AUL blogged about the case today at LifeNews.com. An excerpt is below.
Tomorrow, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is expected to announce its ruling in the case ABC v. Ireland.
The plaintiffs, three anonymous women A., B., and C., are asking that the Court create a right to abortion in the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) to trump the right to life Ireland guarantees the unborn in its Constitution. It seems ironic that the Convention designed to protect against injustice may be used to stomp out a nation’s right to legally protect its [...]

Perinatal hospice can be a wonderful tool to help bereaved families with their grief. Perinatal hospice professionals answer questions, help make plans, and provide care and support for both the baby and the family.
Unfortunately, very few families know this option is available, and to date, only one state requires that parents of terminally ill newborns be given the option for perinatal hospice care: Minnesota. The vast majority of parents who find out that their unborn child has a lethal fetal anomaly will not be informed of the option for perinatal hospice and will opt to terminate the pregnancy. In fact, [...]

Despite an effort by Planned Parenthood to have the law enjoined, the Alaska parental notification law (approved by voters in August 2010) will go into effect during litigation.
However, Superior Court Judge John Suddock did enjoin portions of the law’s enforcement mechanism; namely, he blocked the portions of the law enumerating criminal penalties and civil liability if an abortion provider fails to abide by the parental notification law. He allowed a provision providing for license revocation to stand.
AUL has long been involved in the fight in Alaska and elsewhere to protect minors from the harms inherent in abortion and to promote [...]

Yesterday afternoon, a group of pro-life Senators led the way to block the Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization bill which included language allowing military hospitals and personnel to be used for elective abortions paid for by Americans’ tax dollars.  The 57-40 vote in the U.S. Senate fell 3 votes short of the 60 votes the bill’s proponents needed to move it forward.
AUL CEO and President Dr. Charmaine Yoest commended the Senators for their “commitment to protecting our men and women in the military so that they do not become the means to advance abortion advocates’ goal of taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.”
She made the following statement:
“We [...]

William Saunders of AUL recently blogged on this topic at LifeNews.com. An excerpt is below.
The hostilities toward conscience rights are abundant. This month the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) reviewed and reaffirmed the 2007 Ethics Committee Number 385, entitled The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine.
And last week a pro-life nurse was denied the right to sue the hospital where she was forced to participate in abortion. There has never been a greater need to pass comprehensive conscience protection measures than there is now.
The ACOG Ethics Committee rule requires pro-life physicians to refer for abortions. [...]

In August, the FDA approved the new drug ella without adequate assurances of its safety for women and allowed the abortion-causing drug to be misleadingly labeled as contraception.  Now ella’s U.S.-based marketer, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and an online based pharmacy, KwikMed, are further distorting the facts as they start to sell the drug.
On its self-described “informative” website, Watson claims that ella “is not an abortion pill” and “if used as directed, emergency contraceptives do not work the same way as Mifeprex.”
However, the abortion drug Mifeprex (RU-486) is, like ella, a selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM).  They have similar chemical make-ups [...]

Tomorrow, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to consider the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA).  Contrary to the stated anti-violence purpose of the bill, I-VAWA may launch an international assault on the unborn with federal tax dollars, and harm women world-wide by promoting a pro-abortion agenda. 
Section 3 of I-VAWA, the Statement of Policy, requires “support” for organizations that partner with certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) known to promote the global expansion of abortion.  Moreover, it states that it is the policy of the United States to “increase communication and co-operation” with these pro-abortion NGOs.   
I-VAWA seeks to achieve “Millennium [...]

William Saunders of AUL recently blogged about the Burris Amendment for LifeNews.com. An excerpt is below:
The pro-abortion forces of the 111th Congress have returned to Capitol Hill with one more shot at forcing American taxpayers to subsidize elective abortions during the “Lame Duck” session of Congress.
One potential attack comes from an amendment authored by Senator Roland Burris (D-IL), who was appointed to fill President Obama’s former Senate seat, and who has since been replaced by Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL).
Under U.S. Code Title 10 USC Sec 1093(b), abortions may not be performed by Department of Defense medical [...]

The United States Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law held a hearing on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which President Jimmy Carter signed in 1980, but the Senate has never ratified. Americans United for Life has submitted a statement to the Judiciary Committee opposing the ratification of CEDAW. That statement is below. William Saunders of AUL also recently blogged on this issue for LifeNews.com.
AUL Statement Against Ratification of CEDAW

This month the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) reviewed and reaffirmed the 2007 Ethics Committee Number 385, entitled The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine. This rule states, “physicians and other healthcare professionals have the duty to refer patients in a timely manner to other providers if they do not feel that they can in conscience provide the standard reproductive service that patients request.” Furthermore, “in an emergency in which referral is not possible or might negatively affect a patient’s physical or mental health, providers have an obligation to provide medically indicated and requested care regardless of [...]

Pro-life Americans celebrated a tremendous victory in August 2010 when Alaska voters approved a ballot initiative requiring parental notice before abortion.  Planned Parenthood previously filed a challenge in state court in an attempt to keep the measure off of the ballot, but was unsuccessful.
So it came as no surprise on Friday when the abortion industry giant filed yet another court challenge against the law—once again claiming that a parental notice law violates the Alaska constitution.
The rhetoric is the same: Abortion carries no risks.  Parental notice laws harm minors.  Minors are sufficiently mature to make their own health decisions.
Of course, each [...]

Today, the Second Circuit ruled that a private individual does not have a right to sue her employer after being forced to participate in an abortion.
The plaintiff in the case, Catherina Lorena Cenzon-DeCarlo, was a nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, where she was forced to participate in an abortion.  She later brought suit against the hospital alleging that it had violated the federal Church Amendments by discriminating against her for objecting to participation in abortion. In January, a lower federal court dismissed her case, finding that the Church Amendments do not provide for a private, individual cause [...]

Today AUL filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of eight Illinois legislators, supporting the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act and urging the First District appellate court to uphold the law.
In 1995, the Illinois General Assembly enacted the Act, which requires parental notification before a minor can obtain an abortion. The Act has been enjoined in litigation since that time.  After the federal courts ruled that the Act could go into effect, the ACLU filed yet another challenge in state court on behalf of the Hope Clinic for Women (Granite City) and abortion provider Allison Cowett. The state trial court ruled [...]

Concerned that the “preventive care for women” mandate in the new health care law will be used to force all insurance plans to cover abortion and abortion-inducing drugs, Americans United for Life attended yesterday’s meeting held by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).  The IOM serves an important role in determining what constitutes “preventive care for women” which the new health care law mandates all insurance companies cover without cost-sharing, meaning these services must be fully covered without a co-pay.  No American will be able to choose a health insurance plan that does not cover what is determined to be “preventive [...]

Sometimes people have questioned how effective incremental pro-life legislation really is. It’s true that the relation between laws passed and lives saved can seem distant from each other. Years can pass before things really change. However, the moving plans of infamous, late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart prove laws can make a difference.
Dr. Carhart has been performing abortions full-time in Nebraska for nearly two decades, becoming well-known as the lead plaintiff against the Nebraska partial-birth abortion ban which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2000. He returned to the Court in 2007 to fight the federal PBA ban, this time [...]

Could your insurance plan be required to cover abortion-inducing drugs? A known loophole in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) could allow pro-abortion advocates to sneak this abortion mandate through the back door. If a federal agency determines “contraception” is “preventive care” every American will be obligated to subsidize abortion through their health insurance premiums.
How does this work? PPACA requires all private health insurance plans to provide coverage of “preventive care for women,” not just those plans participating in the insurance exchanges that the law requires be established by 2014. Instead of defining “preventive care” in the statute, [...]

In fighting the good fight for life, it’s not uncommon for there to be set backs, long hours and little recognition. But that does not always have to be the case.
AUL is proud to congratulate William Saunders who received the St. Thomas More Award in Charlotte, North Carolina Tuesday, November 9. This award recognizes an individual who promotes and embodies the virtues of St. Thomas More, as well as to inspire lawyers and other professionals to honor God through their work. The award is traditionally given to individuals who have contributed significantly to the respect for the dignity [...]

In just the latest in a string of reprehensible incidents in which abortion and abortion providers deliver substandard care and continue to practice without regard to accepted medical standards, a North Dakota abortionist is being investigated for practicing with an expired license.
Abortionist Tami Lynn Holst Thorndike appears to have valid medical licenses in Colorado and South Dakota, but her North Dakota license expired on June 30, 2010.  Thorndike performs abortions at the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, the state’s only abortion clinic.
Tammi Kromenaker, Director of the Red River Women’s Clinic, has tried to dismiss concerns, arguing that there was simply [...]

After more than ten years of litigation and desperate obstructionism by Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocates, Arizona’s comprehensive abortion clinic regulations are slated to go into effect on Monday, November 1.  The regulations were first enacted in 1999 following a tragic and preventable death at a Phoenix abortion clinic.
In April 1998, Lou Anne Herron, a 33-year-old mother with two young children already at home, entered the A-Z Women’s Center in Phoenix seeking a late-term abortion.  An initial ultrasound examination showed that Ms. Herron was 26 weeks pregnant, 2 weeks beyond the limit of Arizona’s ban on post-viability abortions.  Undeterred, clinic [...]

Increasingly, being pro-abortion is a political problem. In the United States, facing a tough election year, even some self-proclaimed “abortion rights” supporters now claim that they favor restrictions on government funding of abortion, such as the Hyde Amendment. Significantly, in Brazil, presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff has signed a pledge that she will not initiate a liberalization of the abortion laws.
Rousseff has in the past supported expanding abortion, which is illegal in most cases in Brazil. Why would she now sign a statement claiming to be “personally against abortion” and promising not to “take the initiative to propose alterations of points [...]

In August, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug ella as an emergency contraceptive.  The drug, however, does more than prevent conception.  It can starve an already implanted embryo to death.  Deceptively marketed as contraception, the abortion-causing drug also poses serious health risks to women. 
Tonight, at 9:00 pm, members of the “ella Causes Abortions” coalition are hosting a webcast on the dangers of this new abortion drug.  You can register for the webcast, “What They Won’t Tell You,” at the coalition website www.ellacausesabortions.com.

Mildred Jefferson, M.D., was a pioneer in her profession, a pioneer for women and minorities, and a pioneer in the pro-life movement.  Few matched her courage and perseverance in the cause of protecting the unborn; none could match her eloquence or ability to inspire.  Americans United for Life greatly benefitted from her leadership and counsel through her service on the board of directors.  AUL and the entire pro-life cause has lost a true friend and leader.

This morning at the Capitol Hill Club, our friends at Alliance Defense Fund honored the great jurist, Robert Bork, for, among other things, his leadership in the fight against agenda-driven judging and for an originalist understanding of our constitution.
This reminded us of the key role Judge Bork recently played during the fight over the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
Judge Bork is a former Solicitor General, as was she, but he noted that her support for agenda-driving judging and the man who epitomizes it, Aharon Barak, was sufficient reason alone for Senators to oppose her.
Judge Bork joined AUL’s [...]

Today (Tuesday, October 19), AUL’s legal team held an exclusive election briefing discussing the impact of taxpayer-funded abortion in the health care reform law. Click on the link above to hear the audio of the call as well as to read the legal affidavit on this issue.

Click here to read the affidavit that was discussed at today’s election tele-briefing.

William Saunders, Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel at AUL, addressed two audiences in Europe last week.
Mr. Saunders was invited by the Lawyers Forum of the Bar Association of Slovakia to speak on international law and human rights on October 4, in Bratislava, Slovakia.  Mr. Saunders expounded on how the left is misusing both international law and human rights to advance a radical agenda.
Mr. Saunders also spoke at the Rhodes Forum in Rhodes, Greece on October 9.  The Forum, entitled the “Dialogue of Civilizations,” was a meeting of over 600 delegates from around the world to consider issues of concern [...]

Virginia Law Advocates for Life, one of Advocates for Life’s newest Chapters, invited William Saunders, Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel at AUL, to speak at its first event, “Let’s Chat About Being Pro-Life.”  The event was an opportunity to begin what Chris Schandevel, President of Virginia Law Advocates for Life, hopes will become an on-going discussion at the law school about issues involving the dignity of innocent human life. 
Saunders led the discussion, sharing his own story about how he became pro-life.  Law students then spent several minutes sharing their own personal stories about becoming pro-life.  Next, Saunders fielded students’ [...]

At the behest of NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and other abortion advocates, the New York City Council is considering legislation placing unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional limits on advertising by pregnancy care centers and requiring them to post signs intended to discourage women from using the centers’ services.
The legislation, sponsored by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, would require pregnancy care centers to “disclose that they do not provide abortions, FDA- approved contraception or referrals for these services. Disclosure will be in the form of signs at the entrance of the facility and in any waiting rooms as well [...]

Today, the U.S. Army convened an Article 32 hearing – the military’s version of a preliminary hearing – to investigate charges made against Major Nidal Hasan and stemming from the November 5, 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.  Hasan currently faces one charge and 13 specifications of premeditated murder in violation of Article 118 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and one charge and 32 specifications of attempted murder in violation of Article 80 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Colonel James Pohl, an experienced Army judge advocate who, in January 2009, was appointed as the Chief Presiding [...]

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in London, adopted a resolution supporting the fundamental right of health care providers to practice medicine in accord with their individual consciences.  In pertinent part, the provisional resolution stated that “[N]o person, hospital or institution shall be coerced, held liable or discriminated against in any manner because of a refusal to perform, accommodate, assist or submit to an abortion, the performance of a human miscarriage, or euthanasia or any act which could cause the death of a human foetus or embryo, for any reason.”
In adopting the resolution, the Assembly [...]

Today, Slate asked women to comment on “Who Gets To Be a Feminist?” One woman responded that only one thing mattered to feminism: “You can’t call yourself a feminist if you don’t believe in the right to abortion.”
This assertion flies in the face of history and of the well-reasoned convictions of scores of American women.
Feminism, by definition, should promote and improve women’s personal and professional lives.  Those who assert that abortion-on-demand is a non-negotiable part of being a true feminist are essentially saying to women, “You aren’t capable of succeeding on your own.  You need abortion to attain equality, success, and prosperity.”  [...]

Denise Burke, Vice President of Legal Affairs for AUL, guest-blogged earlier this week at USCatholic.org. Burke’s guest post was made as part of Respect Life month guest-blogging at the site.
An excerpt from Burke’s post:
As I surveyed the past decade, I drew a great deal of sustenance and even pride from the pro-life movement’s progress toward a renewed culture of life. We have persevered in the face of substantial and sustained obstacles. And we have succeeded in influencing both the law and the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens–much to the consternation of the intellectual and media [...]

On Tuesday, September 28, 2010, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order extending their previous decision to allow federal funding for human embryo destructive research to continue.  This “stay pending appeal,” like the panel’s previous decision, is temporary. The court will continue to consider the government’s appeal of U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth’s August 23rd preliminary injunction halting the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research.  Judge Lamberth found that federal funding of research on stem cells derived from destroyed human embryos violates federal law.
Judge Lamberth is also moving [...]

The number of state and federal laws providing  legal recognition of and protection for the unborn child has grown substantially  in recent decades, despite the Roe v. Wade decision. That’s because the Roe decision was focused on abortion and did not address the states’ capacity to legally protect the unborn child, as a human being, in contexts outside of abortion, e.g., when an unborn child is killed through the criminal acts or negligence of a third party.
Since the 1970s, AUL has worked to promote comprehensive legal protection of the unborn child, from conception. Today, there are 36 states with fetal [...]

Law students from Georgetown University Law School gathered to hear William Saunders, Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel at AUL, speak on “The ABCs of an International Right to Abortion” yesterday afternoon.  Saunders discussed the push by abortion advocates to “create” an international “right” to abortion.  “Given the United States Supreme Court’s control over abortion and its increasing reliance on international law,” Saunders stated, “if abortion is considered a customary international right, this issue could not only be taken completely out of the hands of the American people, but even out of the realm of American jurisprudence.” 
The lecture was hosted [...]

On September 28, 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the abortion drug RU-486 for use in the United States.  A look at the facts surrounding the FDA approval of the drug and its 10 years of use in the U.S. is sobering.  Women’s health has been sacrificed and countless lives have been taken to advance the agenda of the abortion industry.  A decade later, the FDA has again put politics above women’s health, approving a new abortion drug, ella, in August, and allowing the drug to be deceptively marketed as a contraceptive.  
In the last days of the Clinton [...]

Friday, Americans United for Life submitted comments on the Department of Health and Human Services interim final rule to implement requirements in section 1101 of Title I (pertaining to the creation of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Program (PCIP program), or “high risk pools”) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act).
The regulation includes a list of services for which coverage under the PCIP program is “unequivocally prohibited.”[1] Section 152.19(b) provides that “[b]enefit plans offered by a PCIP shall not cover . . . (4) Abortion services except when the life of the woman would [...]

One of the consequences of Roe v. Wade was a public health vacuum that has not been filled for 37 years. The Court created the vacuum by eliminating the abortion laws of all 50 states, and then empowered abortionists to sue to prevent public health laws that would fill the vacuum.
The continuing impact of Roe in creating and perpetuating this public health vacuum was once again demonstrated in the past week when the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed suit in federal court against a new Louisiana clinic regulations law. The suit, filed September 21st, is [...]

Last Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Service held a hearing on “The Promise of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.”  Many scientists promote embryo-destructive research as full of “promise” and “hope,” but the reality is this research destroys unborn children in the name of false “hope.”
Predictably, the Subcommittee had three witnesses testify who touted the need for embryo-destructive research. Only one witness spoke the whole truth: “Stem cells obtained from adults, children, infants, and even umbilical cords hold not just promise, but have treated spinal cord injuries, congestive heart failure, corneal blindness, sickle cell anemia, and [...]

Yesterday, a group of pro-life Senators led by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) banded together, leading an effort to block a Senate Defense-spending bill that would have opened the door for taxpayer-funded abortions on military bases. The 56-43 vote in the U.S. Senate fell four votes short of the 60 votes the bill’s proponents needed to move it forward.
Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of AUL Action, recognized McCain and his colleagues for outstanding work as they “led the fight to win today’s key vote rejecting taxpayer-funded abortion in the military.” The vote was [...]

Today marks the 15th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.  Abortion advocates attending the Conference fought rigorously to establish a “right to abortion” on demand, but were defeated when governments declared that no “right to abortion” was to be established at Beijing.  Since then, abortion supporters have worked with increased vigor to expand access to abortion and to infiltrate “abortion rights” language into international legal documents.
In March of this year, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) took place at the [...]

Once again, it seems the “Political Class” is out of step with the American public on taxpayers paying for the destruction of human life.
In the latest Rasmussen Reports phone survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted August 25-26, 2010, 57% of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research.  Only 33% support it.
In contrast, Rasmussen says that a whopping 73% of the “Political Class” support spending money on research that currently necessitates the destruction of human embryos.
Scientists are attempting to create embryonic stem cells by getting more mature cells to revert into an embryonic stem cell state. Research on the [...]

Yesterday, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford signed House Bill 3245 into law, requiring that a woman considering abortion be given a full 24 hours to review and consider information on the abortion procedure, its complications and consequences, and the development of an unborn child before undergoing the procedure.
“I believe life is sacred, and in the debate over when life begins, I think we as a society should always err on the side of life,” Governor Sanford said. “Given current federal law, I think it’s imperative that a decision of this magnitude only be made with the fullest and most accurate [...]

Yesterday, an article was published on Slate, “Is Ella Birth Control or Abortion? The new morning-after pill.”
 This response will address some points made in the Slate article that may be misleading about the newly-approved drug.
“Studies have found [ella] to last longer and be twice as effective as Plan B, the version currently on the market, which is only effective for up to 72 hours after intercourse.” And “Pro-life supporters… are worried about the effect of ella on an embryo before it implants and raised similar concerns following the approval of Plan B in 1999.”
While both ella and Plan B are [...]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug ella.   While the FDA is allowing the drug to be deceptively marketed as a “contraceptive,” the agency’s prescribing instructions for the drug admit that ella may cause abortions.
The drug ella is praised by its advocates for being very “effective.”  However, as the FDA notes, one reason for its effectiveness is that ella “may affect implantation.”  This means ella does more than prevent conception; ella can kill an embryo.
That ella may kill an embryo is unsurprising, as it has a similar chemical make-up to the abortion drug RU-486.  Both are selective [...]

Congress is taking a break for the month of August. Upon their return in September, a major piece of legislation containing a provision that would provide federal resources for abortion is expected to receive consideration by the full Senate.
Conversely, two pieces of legislation have been introduced in the House of Representatives that would prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortions.  While these bills are not likely to receive consideration this year, they are gaining support and momentum for 2011.
These items are addressed in turn below.
I. The Burris Amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Bill
Under U.S. Code [...]

Dr. Michael New, a Summer Research Fellow at AUL, is one of the speakers today at The Bloggers Briefing at the Heritage Foundation. Dr. New will discuss his recent research. The briefing starts at Noon EDT. You can watch or listen online at www.thebloggersbriefing.com. You can also follow the hashtag of #TBB on Twitter for more coverage of the event.
Recently,  Dr. New authored a blog post at The Corner at National Review Online that responded to a New York Times piece over the weekend. He has also written recent book reviews for LifeNews.com, LifeSiteNews, and Public Discourse.

A member of the ella Causes Abortion Coalition, Americans United for Life co-signed a letter that was sent yesterday to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking the administration not to approve the new drug, ella.
Ella is being marketed as an “emergency contraceptive,” but it is the “next generation” of the abortion drug, RU-486.  Ella, like RU-486, is a selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM).  As a progesterone blocker, an SPRM works to interfere with the developing human embryo, causing it to die by either interfering with the uterine lining and preventing implantation, or by starving an [...]

Americans United for Life has joined with pro-life leaders around the world to oppose passage of the pro-abortion proposed constitution in Kenya.
On August 4, 2010, Kenyans will vote on a proposed constitution through a national referendum.  The constitution would change Kenyan law from one that protects the right to life of the unborn to one that enshrines abortion-on-demand as a constitutional right.
AUL has co-signed a petition highlighting several concerns about this radical change.
Notably, abortion-on-demand is not what Kenyans want.  The insertion of pro-abortion language was the work of a “Committee of Experts” which included three non-Kenyans.  Kenyan Parliamentarians had rejected [...]

Last week, President Obama took advantage of the July 4th Recess to appoint Dr. Donald Berwick to the position of Administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS is the agency that runs the Medicare and Medicaid programs).
Dr. Berwick is not only an outspoken advocate for government-controlled health care, but also a strong proponent of rationing health care. He commented on Britain’s healthcare system: “Cynics beware, I am romantic about the National Health Service; I love it.” Berwick loves the National Health Service because of its rationing system. In 2009, Dr. [...]

Dr. Charmaine Yoest will appear on the Don Kroah Show on WAVA (105.1 FM in the Washington, D.C. area) today at 4:15 p.m. EDT. To listen live online, click on the FM Listen Live link on the left side of the station website.

Senator Amy Klobuchar asked Elena Kagan this morning about her judicial philosophy and certain statements she made in her Master’s thesis at Oxford.  Senator Klobuchar referenced where Kagan wrote: ”U.S. Supreme Court justices live in the knowledge that they have the authority to command or to block great social, political and economic change.  At times, the temptation to wield this power becomes irresistible. The justices, at such times, will attempt to steer the law in order to achieve certain ends and advance certain values.”Justices know they can command or block social and economic change and that they are tempted to do [...]

Senator Herb Kohl asked Elena Kagan this morning, “Since we don’t have a judicial record for you, what should we use to evaluate you to see what kind of justice you’ll be, what you’re judicial philosophy will be?”
Kagan responded: “Look to my whole life – my tenure as Solicitor General, as Dean of Harvard Law, my time in the White House…”
Kagan has spent the majority of her career working for pro-abortion politicians and judges.  She is a pro-abortion political operative who has already pre-judged this and other critical issues.  There is no doubt that she would be an agenda-driven Justice [...]

AUL is proud to welcome its Summer Research Fellow, Dr. Michael J. New, whose studies for the Heritage Foundation and the Family Research Council have made him the leading expert on the effects of pro-life legislation.
Dr. New is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama and a Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute, writing regularly for the institute’s Public Discourse Web site. His work for AUL will be published later this year. In the meantime, catch up with his research via the Public Discourse archive, which includes his recent story on “How Red States Reduce the Abortion Rate.”

William L. Saunders of AUL spoke on “Catholic Social Teaching on Marriage and the Family—Implications for Public Policy” at the annual Summer Catholic Social Thought Institute earlier today. The weeklong Institute, conducted by the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and The Cardinal Newman Society, invites practitioners in social science disciplines or policy initiatives to provide graduate students and younger faculty with strategies for applying principles of the Catholic intellectual tradition to their respective intellectual and cultural endeavors. Mr. Saunders’ talk was on Tuesday afternoon, June 8, on the campus of Catholic University in Washington, DC.

By Daniel McConchie
Today, on the last day of Missouri’s legislative session, the legislature passed a combo opt-out/informed consent bill that now goes to Governor Jay Nixon for his consideration.
SB 793 makes Missouri the fifth state to vote to opt-out of the abortion requirements in the federal health care reform law.  Additionally, it expands the state’s informed consent rules requiring doctors to offer women the opportunity to see an ultrasound and hear their unborn child’s heartbeat.  It also requires the distribution of new printed materials that detail the risks of the abortion procedure, alternatives to abortion, and detail on what her [...]

MEMORANDUM
To: [Undisclosed Parties]

From: Americans United for Life Legal Team
Date: May 12, 2010
Re: Abortion Groups’ Newest Advocate from the Bench?
Americans’ lives are shaped and changed by the law, but a Supreme Court Justice’s role is not to impact people’s lives by shaping or changing the law according to her own beliefs.  Rather, a Justice should apply the law as it is written to each case that arises before the Court.  In the past 40 years, certain Supreme Court Justices, in the name of a right to abortion, have imposed their pro-abortion views on the American people, denying Americans their right [...]

By Denise M. Burke
The Oklahoma House has voted 90-0 to adopt AUL’s “Joint Resolution Honoring Pregnancy Care Centers,” joining the Oklahoma Senate which had earlier adopted the same resolution.
Oklahoma House Resolution (HR) 1087 was sponsored by Representative Sally Kern who observed, “Pregnancy resource centers encourage women to make positive life choices by equipping them with complete and accurate information regarding their pregnancy options and the development of their unborn child. They provide women with compassionate and confidential peer counseling in a nonjudgmental manner regardless of their pregnancy outcomes, and also provide important support and resources for women who choose [...]

Americans United for Life is hosting a reception this evening to present House Republican Leader John A. Boehner with the 2010 Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award.
Leader Boehner will be recognized both for his extraordinary leadership in the fight to prevent taxpayer-funded abortion and for his work to protect women’s health in his own state of Ohio.
A copy of AUL’s press release for the event can be found here.
There is a Facebook event page for this reception here.
More information on the award:
The Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award
News coverage:
National Journal
National Review Online
Life News
Two recent blog posts from AUL [...]