Media Alerts

“A civil society does not discriminate against people – born and unborn – for their sex or for disability.
We should be celebrating diversity, not destroying it,” said AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
“This historic law creates real protections for all our citizens.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03-26-2013) – Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest praised Rep. Bette Grande for championing a bill signed today into law by North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple, making that state the first in the nation to ban sex-selection abortions AND abortions for genetic abnormalities. The law is based on AUL-model legislation and makes North Dakota the fifth state to ban the sexist practice of ending a child’s life based on its sex. But importantly, North Dakota becomes the first state to end the practice of destroying unborn life based on potential genetic abnormalities.

“A civil society does not discriminate against people – born and unborn – for their sex or for disability.  We should be celebrating diversity, not destroying it,” said Dr. Yoest. “Women in particular have been targeted for death in the womb, and we’ve also seen dramatic abortion rates for children with disabilities which put them at risk for extinction. Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Rep. Bette Grande and the legislators in North Dakota have shown courageous humanity in passing this legislation.”

North Dakota House Bill (HB) 1305, sponsored by Rep. Grande, serves essential public interests by prohibiting both sex-selection abortion and abortion for genetic abnormalities. Sex-selection abortion is gender-based violence generally targeted toward females.  Likewise, abortion performed solely because of genetic abnormalities is discriminatory and devalues the lives of the disabled.

While federal and state laws protect women and the disabled from discrimination, the unborn are not similarly protected.  HB 1305 cures this deficiency in the law and ensures protection for unborn children who are targeted for death solely because of their sex or genetic abnormalities. The other states that ban sex-selective abortions are Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.

For more information on AUL’s model legislation, released annually in Defending Life, click here.

The winning entry will be published in Human Life Review, and the top three authors will receive monetary prizes and be recognized at an AUL January 2014 reception, coinciding with the anniversary of Roe v. Wade and the annual March for Life.

As the United States Senate considers amendments to the Budget today and tomorrow, U.S. Senators are expected to offer at least three pro-life amendments.   These amendments express the “Sense of the Senate”—that is, they call on Congress to enact legislation.  If the amendments are adopted, Congress will still need to vote on the underlying legislation before it is presented to the President for signature.  The three expected amendments are the D.C. Pain-Capable Unborn Children Act, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, and the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act.

D.C. Pain-Capable Unborn Children Act

This amendment calls on Congress to prohibit abortions in the District of Columbia beginning at 20 weeks after fertilization, protecting both the unborn child and his or her mother.  Abortion is currently legal in the District of Columbia for all nine months of pregnancy for any reason.

Abortion not only kills an innocent child, but also poses significant physical and psychological risks to the child’s mother.  By prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks, the District of Columbia will both safeguard unborn children, and take an important and necessary step toward protecting the health and safety of women from the dangers inherent in abortion, particularly late-term abortions.

The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA)

This amendment calls on Congress to require abortion providers in states where minors do not reside to comply with the parental involvement laws in the minors’ home states.  CIANA would prohibit knowingly transporting a minor across a state lines for an abortion in order to evade the parental involvement law in the minor’s home state, as well as require abortion providers to notify parents at least 24 hours before performing an abortion on an out-of-state minor.

The purposes behind such parental involvement requirements are clear—to protect minors and defend parental rights. Abortion poses multiple risks to a girl’s health, and the medical, emotional, and psychological consequences of abortion are often serious and can be lasting.  Parents usually possess information essential to a physician’s exercise of his or her best medical judgment concerning the minor, and parents who are aware that their daughter has had an abortion may better ensure the best post-abortion medical attention.  Parental consent often is required for tattoos, ear piercing, and even providing aspirin.  At a minimum, parents should be notified if their daughter is seeking an abortion and have the opportunity to counsel their daughter on all of her options, including the life-affirming decision to give birth.

Further, parental involvement laws protect weak and vulnerable teens from sexual exploitation.  It is obviously easier for child predators to use abortion to cover up criminal behavior in states without parental involvement laws.

Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act

This amendment calls on Congress to pass S. 138, the Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act (PRENDA), which would prohibit sex discrimination against an unborn child by proscribing the killing of the child based on his or her sex.  Importantly, given that baby girls are the predominant targets of sex-selection abortions, the passage of PRENDA is vital to prevent gender-based violence and to ensure that all women are treated with respect and dignity.

In 2011, in her book, Unnatural Selection, author Mara Hvistendahl reported that 163 million girls are missing in the world because of sex-selection abortions.  The problem is so severe in some countries that, in 2005, the United Nations Population Fund termed the practice “female infanticide.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03-13-13) – Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest welcomes Pope Francis I on his election as the Bishop of Rome and said that the prayers and hopes of many “are extended to him as a world leader whom I have no doubt will be a passionate advocate for all people, born and unborn.”

Dr. Yoest observed, “The pro-life movement owes a debt of gratitude to the Catholic Church for its leadership and on-going commitment to building a world in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. Americans United for Life extends our sincere congratulations to our Catholic friends as they prepare to welcome Pope Francis I as their new leader.”

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WASHIINGTON, D.C. (03-13-13) – Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest commended the Oklahoma House that passed AUL model legislation designed to assist parents and guardians as they engage young girls in an abortion decision. Oklahoma House Bill 1361 sponsored by State Rep. Randy Grau passed 81 to 13, and now heads to the State Senate where State Sen. Greg Treat is carrying the bill.

“For too long in this country, sex offenders and abusive adults have covered up their crimes by manipulating young girls to have abortions,” said Dr. Yoest. “This legislation will make it harder for abusers to hide from the consequences of their misdeeds and for the abortion industry to turn a blind eye to victims of abuse. We know that parental consent laws reduce the abortion rate by up to almost 19 percent. This legislation will further strengthen parental involvement in their children’s lives.”

HB 1361 requires that a person consenting to a minor’s abortion provide a government-issued form of identification and written documentation that he or she is the lawful parent of the minor.  This provision will prevent abortion providers from sidestepping the law by claiming they were “duped” into accepting consent from individuals fraudulently representing themselves as the parents or legal guardians of minors. The new law requires a minor seeking a “judicial bypass” to file her petition in her home county.  This prevents abortion providers from coaching minors on how to “forum shop”—that is, find judges who are likely to grant bypass requests.

Dr. Yoest noted that Parental Involvement legislation is among the most popular of commonsense limits on abortion.  Parental involvement laws boast a 71% nationwide approval rating, protect the health and well-being of minors, respect parental rights, and save the lives of unborn babies.

For more information on AUL’s cutting-edge model legislation or to request a copy of AUL’s Defending Life, click here.

“The horrific headlines of young women, dead, after surgical abortions are tragic evidence of the need for better supervision of an under-regulated, profit-driven industry,” said AUL’s Anna Franzonello.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03-11-13) – Americans United for Life Staff Counsel Anna Franzonello will testify today in Virginia on the need for comprehensive regulations that “hold the abortion industry to the same medical standards as other surgical facilities for the protection of vulnerable women and girls. The horrific headlines of young women, dead, after surgical abortions are tragic evidence of the need for better supervision of an under-regulated, profit driven industry.”

The Virginia Board of Health is holding a public hearing on the state’s proposed abortion clinic regulations in Alexandria, Virginia, at 1 p.m. in the John Marshall Public Library.

“Since Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly acknowledged that a state has ‘a legitimate interest in seeing to it that abortion, like any other medical procedure, is performed under circumstances that ensure maximum safety for the patient,’” Franzonello will note in her testimony. To read her entire remarks, click here.

Following the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, AUL’s premier legal team has aggressively pursued a strategy of rolling back and reversing Roe through model legislation. Abortion clinic regulations are part of a special package of targeted legislation crafted to confront the abortion industry substandard practices and disregard for women’s health. In 2013, this targeted approach includes:

• The Women’s Health Defense Act (which limits abortions at or after 20-weeks gestation based on concern for women’s health)
• The Abortion Patients’ Enhanced Safety Act (which requires abortion clinics to meet the same standards as other facilities performing outpatient surgeries)
• The Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act
• The Women’s Ultrasound Right to Know Act
• The Parental Involvement Enhancement Act
• The Abortion-Mandate Opt-Out Act
• The Healthcare Freedom of Conscience Act

For more information on the 2013 edition of Defending Life, click here.

“This is the liberty issue of our day,” said AUL President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. “Americans should not be punished for refusing to provide insurance coverage for life-ending drugs and devices or be subjected to politically motivated threats to their businesses, careers, and ability to provide for their families.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03-12-13) – For the tenth time, Americans United for Life filed an amicus curiae brief in challenges to Obamacare. In the brief filed today, AUL argues against the Obama Administration’s “HHS mandate,” which forces employers to provide insurance coverage for life-ending drugs and devices without regard for the employers’ consciences and religious beliefs.

“No American should be punished for refusing to provide insurance coverage for life-ending drugs and devices or be subjected to politically motivated threats to their businesses, careers, and ability to provide for their families. This Administration’s willingness to bankrupt American businesses and individuals who do not share its relentless embrace of radically pro-abortion policies is an abuse of the very authority it is supposed to wield for the good of our citizens.”

She continued: “Forcing a private business to provide coverage of abortion-inducing drugs is a clear violation of our constitutional liberties.  AUL remains at the forefront of the battle to defend freedom of conscience, and we will continue this fight as long as the threat of the HHS mandate and other coercive elements of the healthcare law remain.”

AUL’s brief is filed in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Annex Medical, Inc. v. Sebelius, a case filed by a private, for-profit business based in Minnetonka, Minnesota and operated according to the owners’ Christian beliefs.

As a result of the HHS Mandate, Annex Medical, which has been in business for 25 years, faces the choice of complying with this coercive and inherently unconstitutional mandate, paying potentially crippling fines, or being forced out of business. In January, a federal district court denied the business’ request for an injunction preventing enforcement of the coercive mandate.  The plaintiffs immediately appealed and the Eighth Circuit granted a temporary injunction while it considers the case.

AUL’s brief, available here, demonstrates that “emergency contraception” can prevent an embryo from implanting or kill an already implanted embryo, and that forcing employers to provide coverage for such drugs violates their constitutionally protected freedom of conscience.

The brief was filed on behalf of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association, National Catholic Bioethics Center, Physicians for Life, and National Association of Pro Life Nurses.

For more information on life-affirming healthcare, visit AUL’s unique project, Real Healthcare Respects Life, here.

“On this International Women’s Day, the UN has declared that 2013 is the time to end violence against women. Americans United for Life calls on states to enact laws protecting pregnant women from violent crimes and
abuse,” says AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03-08-13) - In commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day, Americans United for Life reaffirms our commitment to protect pregnant women and their unborn children from violence.  In 1975, the United Nations began celebrating March 8 as International Women’s Day. The United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day 2013 is, “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.”

AUL President and CEO, Dr. Charmaine Yoest commented, “AUL’s ‘Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act’ addresses the growing problem of pregnancy-related violence against women.  As we remember International Women’s Day, we renew our commitment to protect pregnant women and their unborn children. As the UN marks 2013 as the Year to End Violence Against Women, we will continue to emphasize the need to end violence against pregnant women.”

She continued, “We also commend the state of Arkansas which enacted AUL’s ‘Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act’.  We encourage other states to follow their lead in protecting pregnant women across this country.”

AUL’s “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act” seeks to ensure 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. AUL drafted the legislation in response to studies showing higher incidences of violence and abuse during pregnancy than any other period in a woman’s life.  Last week, the state of Arkansas enacted the “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act.”  The Arkansas Senate passed the bill unanimously, and it passed the House without a single dissenting vote.

According to the March of Dimes, one in six pregnant women has been abused by a partner, while a 1998 household survey determined that pregnant women are 60 percent more likely to be beaten than women who are not pregnant. A pregnant woman is also more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause. Homicide and other violent crimes are a leading cause of death for women of reproductive age. Notably, criminal investigations from across the nation demonstrate that husbands or boyfriends are often the perpetrators of pregnancy-associated violence and that this violence is often intended to end or jeopardize the pregnancy.

To download a copy of AUL’s model legislation, click here.

“Big Abortion is using Obamacare to coerce nearly all Americans into paying for deadly products,” said AUL’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (03-06-13) – For the ninth time, the legal team at Americans United for Life is weighing in on the Constitutional failures of Obamacare. AUL President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest announced that the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and AUL are both co-counsel and clients in an amicus curiae brief filed today in Liberty University v. Geithner, a broad challenge to the Affordable Care Act that the U.S. Supreme Court recently remanded to the Fourth Circuit for rehearing. Other clients in the case include Virginia Family Foundation, West Virginia Family Policy Council, Maryland Family Alliance, North Carolina Family Policy Council, and Palmetto Family Council.

“It is contrary to the founding principles of America to use the force of government to require people to violate their consciences and to punish citizens for acting on their beliefs,” said Dr. Yoest. “Obamacare is the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade. Big Abortion is using Obamacare to coerce nearly all Americans into paying for deadly products.”

Liberty University v. Geithner is a broad challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The University contends that the healthcare law violates First Amendment conscience rights through its funding of abortifacients and other practices. The University challenges the Employer Mandate, the HHS Mandate, and other oppressive mandates in the law. Central to the case is the inappropriate role HHS is playing in creating arbitrary and anti-faith regulations. And while the law exempts tens of millions from its coverage for many other reasons, HHS refuses to offer sufficient exemptions for reasons of freedom of conscience.

In the brief, ADF and AUL observe: “Yet, the HHS Mandate is but a symptom of the illness that is the Employer Mandate’s broad grant of power to HHS. So long as HHS holds this unprecedented power the threat to religious liberty will remain.”

Three times during hearings organized by the Institute of Medicine to create healthcare guidelines, AUL testified about possible violations of conscience rights that could occur through Obamacare.

AUL supports repeal of Obamacare because abortion is woven into the healthcare law at multiple levels, including:

• Failing to prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortion, abortion coverage, and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.
• Pretending that the Hyde Amendment protections were enough to prohibit direct payment for abortions.
• Permitting federally subsidized Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) to provide abortion coverage through the state insurance exchanges required in all 50 states.
• Failing to prohibit all multi-state qualified health plans from providing coverage for abortion.
• Including a “preventive care” mandate that is being used to force coverage of drugs and devices known to end life.
• Failing to provide comprehensive First Amendment conscience protections for individuals, employers, and insurance companies that have religious or moral objections to abortion.

Click here to read the brief.