NY Times Says AUL Part of "The Reincarnation of Pro-life"

Thursday, June 2, 2011     In this issue of Bench Briefs: The New York Times reports on the pro-life victories that AUL is having nationwide advancing pro-life legislation state by state, and AUL marks another pro-life win in a key Ohio case. The New York Times Says AUL Part of "The Reincarnation of Pro-life"  Photo at above left by Geoff Livingston   “The way we’re gathering momentum is just amazing,” says Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life President and CEO to the New York Times. The newspaper of record, the New York Times, over the holiday weekend reported groundbreaking pro-life victories in its weekly magazine. Front and center was AUL. “Ever since Republicans took control of half the country’s statehouses this year, the anti-abortion movement has won one victory after another. At least 64 new anti-abortion laws have passed, with more than 30 of them in April alone. The campaign is the largest in history and also the most creative. Virginia started regulating abortion clinics as if they were hospitals. Utah, Nebraska and several other states have stopped private health insurers from covering abortions, with rare exceptions. South Dakota will soon tell women that before they go to an abortion clinic, they must first visit a crisis pregnancy center whose mission is to talk them out of it,” wrote reporter Emily Bazelon. After talking with Dr. Yoest about AUL’s role in developing and promoting legislation that can strategically – and constitutionally – roll back Roe v. Wade and pass life-protecting measures, the reporter called the advances “incrementalism on steroids.” Click here to read the entire article. AUL’s premier legal team reports that in 2011, AUL model language has already been adopted or enacted (in whole or in part) in 9 states and that AUL has actively consulted in 37 states. And more than 1,500 copies of AUL’s model legislation, the blueprint for life-affirming legislation, has been distributed in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and overseas. As legislative session begin to wrap up, AUL continued to move the ball forward for life last week. At left: former Nebraska Governor Kay Orr. In Nebraska, the AUL-drafted parental consent bill LB 690 was passed and signed into law less than two hours later by Governor Dave Heineman. The bill was championed by former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr whose daughter Suzanne is AUL’s state coordinator. To read a profile of Gov. Orr and her family’s pro-life involvement with AUL, click here. In Alabama, the state senate took up, SB202. Sen. Greg Reed introduced the bill, based on AUL model legislation, which would prohibit insurance plans participating in the state exchange created in President Obama’s health care law from covering abortions.  If passed by the house, Alabama will join 12 other states that have passed similar opt-out measures, including: Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. To read an Associated Press story on events in Alabama, click here. And in New Hampshire, Representative Kathy Souza introduced and spearheaded HB 329 to provide long-overdue protections for young girls who need parental guidance when facing pressure to have an abortion. First passed in the House, the bill cleared the Senate with a veto-proof majority. It now goes to the Governor for consideration. If it becomes law, it will require parental notification prior to a young, underage girl obtaining an abortion. This would reinstate a law repealed in 2007.     AUL Says Ohio Federal District Court Win in Abortion-Inducing Drug Case Could Have "National Impact" At right: Dr. Charmaine Yoest & Speaker John Boehner. AUL filed an amicus brief on behalf of Boehner and other elected officials. A first-in-the-nation law that restricts the abortion industry’s use of abortion-inducing RU-486 survived another round this week in a case that began 7 years ago. A federal district court in Ohio ruled that the law was “not vague” but could be readily understood by the abortion providers industry. Dr. Charmaine Yoest noted that AUL has twice argued that position in two separate amicus briefs during the protracted legal battle and predicted the case would have “national impact.”  “The abortion industry has cavalierly given abortion-inducing drugs to women against FDA protocols,” said Dr. Yoest. “The courts affirmed the right of states to protect women by requiring proper use of these dangerous drugs. And AUL model legislation on the regulation of RU-486 has been made available nationwide with that protection.” The Ohio regulation in dispute requires abortion providers to comply with the FDA- approved protocol for the drug. On its own website, Planned Parenthood freely admits that RU-486 is given to women who are further along in their pregnancies than the FDA recommends. Ohio enacted the regulation in 2004 after women across the nation died or were severely injured following such “off-label” use of RU-486. To read AUL’s amicus briefs in support of the Ohio law, one before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and one before the Ohio Supreme Court, click here. In both instances, AUL represented members of the U.S. Congress who supported the regulation, including current Speaker of the House John Boehner.  For more information on model legislation to better regulate RU-486 or to see AUL’s other pro-life legislation, click here. In the News AUL Staff Attorney Kellie Fiedorek discussed a current controversy regarding abortions at military hospitals. Some are arguing that taxpayer funds and facilities to be used for abortions for military personnel. Click here to read further.    Our mission at Americans United for Life is to defend human life through vigorous legislative, judicial, and educational efforts, on both the state and national level. Americans United for Life 655 15th Street NW, Suite 410, Washington, DC 20005 ph 202.289.1478