There are some exciting new developments on the movement for Americans United for Life (UAL). I am thrilled to show you the very recent progress that has occurred. I can enthusiastically report that over 64 recent anti-abortion new laws have passed. This has resulted from the republican take over of half of the nation's state houses. Check out the article below:
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.
Dear Reader,Thank you for your interest in these issues. Please post me a comment when you get a
minute.
Best Regards,
Dave Udall