| Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The Media Has It Wrong:
Majority of Americans "reluctant" about abortion and ready to support restrictions on the abortion industry
A 2011 Gallup poll released this week caused quite a media stir. For the first time in recent years, Americans identifying themselves as “pro-choice” slightly outnumbered those who consider themselves pro-life. But a closer reading of the data reveals why the abortion lobby’s spin of the data is actually misinformation. The report concluded, “Majorities of Americans indicate some reluctance about abortion on both moral and legal grounds.” In fact, the report indicated broad support for restricted abortion. Key findings included facts such as: - 51 percent of Americans believe abortion is morally wrong while only 39 percent believe it is morally acceptable.
- 60 percent of political Independents are evenly divided on the moral correctness of abortion, but tilt “fairly strongly toward restrictive abortion laws.” In fact, 60 percent of Independents believe abortion should be legal in “few or no circumstances.”
- 61 percent of all Americans believe that abortion should be legal in “only a few circumstances or no circumstances” while only 37 percent want abortion legal “in all or most circumstances.”
Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest observed that this study debunked a huge myth promulgated by the abortion industry. “The American people support regulations and common sense checks and balances to protect women and girls’ lives, and to respect the life in the womb,” noted Dr. Yoest. “With 61 percent of the American people hoping for life affirming policy, AUL looks forward to partnering with them.” To read the entire poll, go here. To read common sense regulations of the abortion industry, check out AUL’s model legislation. For further commentary on this, read AUL’s analysis here. ![[object Object]](http://action.aul.org/images/content/pagebuilder/11657.jpg) Happy Anniversary Rust v. Sullivan This week also marked the 20th anniversary of the May 23rd Rust v. Sullivan ruling in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld federal regulations prohibiting federal funds (tax dollars) under Title X from being used for counseling or referring women on abortion as a method of family planning.  It was a momentous decision, affirming the Court’s earlier decision in Maher v. Roe that a “government may ‘make a value judgment favoring childbirth over abortion, and … implement that judgment by the allocation of public funds.’”
One of the Court’s strongest holdings was the following: The Government can, without violating the Constitution, selectively fund a program to encourage certain activities it believes to be in the public interest, without at the same time funding an alternative program which seeks to deal with the problem in another way. In doing so, the Government has not discriminated on the basis of viewpoint; it has merely chosen to fund one activity to the exclusion of the other. To read more about this important anniversary, click here to read analysis from AUL’s Sr. Vice President William Saunders.
Newsweek's newly-dubbed "Dr. Death" in the news, and AUL legislation at work in the field  Euthanasia is back in the news. Retired Baltimore anesthesiologist, Dr. Lawrence Egbert (at right) says that he has helped “direct the deaths of nearly 300 people across the country,” according to a Baltimore Sun report.
Newsweek named Egbert “The New Doctor Death” after he was criminally charged in Arizona and Georgia for his role as medical director for the Final Exit Network. This comes 10 years after Jack Kevorkian went to prison for assisted suicide. AUL has been on the cutting edge of protecting the sick, the weak and the elderly from the life-ending practice of assisted suicide. AUL model legislation provides the tools for lawmakers who want to work on banning assisted suicide or who are working to block attempts to legalize assisted suicide in their individual states. This year, Idaho banned assisted suicide using AUL’s model. Currently: 36 states expressly criminalize assisted suicide: AK, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, and WI. Other states have varying degrees of regulation. To read AUL’s model legislation, go here. For more information about Egbert’s notoriety, check out this Baltimore Sun piece.
In the News
|
