Americans United for Life

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Americans United for Life (AUL) is an American non-profit organization ( 501 (c) (3) status) based in Washington, DC and part of the American rights movement (Pro-Life). Above all, she specializes in drafting and promoting bills that are passed in American states and are intended to make access to abortions difficult or impossible.

History and activities

AUL was founded in 1971 by a group of Conservative Catholics, including activist L. Brent Bozell, Jr. and legal scholar Charles E. Rice . The Unitarian theologian George Huntston Williams became the first chairman . AUL is (after the National Right to Life Committee ) one of the oldest organizations of the pro-life movement. Initially, the organization tried to appeal against the Federal Supreme Court decision in the Roe v. Wade (1973) guaranteed right to abortion; already in the Roe v. Wade appeared at AUL in 1971 as an amicus curiae . In 1972 the organization moved its headquarters to Chicago ; In the same year, the book Abortion and Social Justice , which AUL had funded, appeared, one of the 19 articles in it was later identified as the source for the claim, popular in and through the rights movement, that pregnancies as a result of rape are rare (most recently by Todd Akin in August 2012). In 1976 AUL established the Americans United for Life Legal Defense Fund , with which the organization usually litigates. In 1979 the lawyer Dennis J. Horan became the new chairman. From the late 1970s onwards, AUL appeared in court as a supporter or defender of the so-called Hyde Amendment , a federal statute dating back to Henry Hyde that, with very few exceptions, prohibits the use of federal funds to finance abortions. A 1995 study by Barbara Yarnold of abortion proceedings in federal courts from 1973 to 1990 found that AUL or its Legal Defense Fund was successful in only 14% of the cases involved. For 1992 there was also an AUL annual budget of $  250,000 with 20 permanent employees. The author named AUL one of the most important organizations of the pro-life movements in the legal field; it is very active, but not very successful and cooperates little with other organizations. 1989/90 AUL excelled in the Nancy Cruz case with agitation for strict conditions for euthanasia . In the 1990s, AUL changed its strategy and directed its activities to the state level. AUL often invokes the Supreme Court's Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) explicitly stated a government's legitimate interest in the health of a pregnant woman.

The contents of the law propagated by AUL include mandatory, medically unnecessary, invasive, transvaginal ultrasound examinations before abortions (so-called informed consent laws, critics assume that there is targeted degradation), stricter or highly restrictive regulations for clinics that carry out abortions, and prohibitions against the assumption of the cost of abortion by health insurances and the withdrawal of funds for organizations that enable access to abortions (especially planned parenthood ) as well as complete bans on abortions from a certain period (e.g. after 20 weeks - often justified with a alleged sensitivity to pain in fetuses from this period onwards, hence also fetal pain laws) or with certain means (such as RU-486 ). AUL also opposed efforts to release the morning-after pill ("Plan B One-Step") without a prescription and without age restrictions. Particularly controversial was an AUL bill that was supposed to expand justifiable homicide laws; these laws in some American states define under what circumstances it is legitimate to kill other people, e.g. B. in self-defense or to prevent the killing of third parties - the bill or its various versions provided for killings to be recognized as justified if they were committed in defense of unborn children. Critics of the bill saw it as a justification or incitement to murder doctors who perform abortions.

AUL also made public appearances in other contexts: Alongside the pro-life organizations Christian Coalition of America , Family Research Council , Phyllis Schlaflys Eagle Forum and March for Life , AUL was one of the only organizations that took part in the hearing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993 protested before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Ginsburg's appeal to the Supreme Court. In Ginsburg's hearing, AUL was represented by its then President Paige Comstock Cunningham, who also spoke out against Stephen Breyer's appeal to the Supreme Court a year later in the hearing . President and CEO of AUL Charmaine Yoest (formerly a member of the Reagan administration, the Family Research Council and most recently Mike Huckabee's campaign for the Republican nomination for the 2008 US presidential nomination) witnessed the hearing of Sonia Sotomayor and spoke out against her appeal to the Supreme Court. AUL also strongly agitated against Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court. The progressive organization Media Matters for America noted among other things AUL's claim that Kagan had withdrawn constitutional law in favor of international law as a compulsory course during her time as dean at Harvard Law School; this false claim was picked up by The Washington Times and Glenn Beck , among others . Another false claim made by AUL concerned the veracity of Kagan's statements about her involvement in an American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology statement on a specific form of abortion ( prohibited by the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act ). AULs Yoest spoke out against Kagan during the hearing.

In the run-up to the 2010 election in the United States , AUL publicly supported a candidate, Republican Jane E. Norton (former lieutenant governor of Colorado ), in her candidacy for one of the Colorado Senate seats for Congress. Also in the run-up to the 2010 elections, AUL spent $ 600,000 in a campaign called "Life Counts" campaigning against twelve Democratic Party candidates ( Paul Kanjorski , Alan Grayson , Kathy Dahlkemper , John Salazar , Joe Donnelly , Joyce Elliott , Baron Hill , Chris Carney , John Boccieri , Tom Perriello , John Spratt and Bob Etheridge ). Dahlkemper, who describes herself as "pro-life", took legal action against AUL radio commercials, in which it was alleged that her vote for the 2010 health care reform led to the "largest expansion of taxpayer-funded abortions ever". For the time being, AUL withdrew the radio commercial against Salazar itself: Instead of John Salazar, his brother Ken Salazar was incorrectly named. Another campaign was (unsuccessfully) directed against the appointment of Republican Fred Upton as chairman of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce .

AUL operated on an annual budget of $ 3.7 million in 2011. Of 92 legal measures to restrict access to abortion that were implemented in 24 American states in 2011, 28 were due to AUL. Of 40 legal acts enacted in 17 states in the first half of 2012, a third were written by AUL. In 2012, AUL worked according to its own information in 39 federal states, and in 26 legislators also actively consulted.

AUL publishes annually a list of AUL model bills as well as legal aid for individual states called Defending Life .

Recognized by Republican Party politicians

The 2010 Defending Life was described by Texas Governor Rick Perry as "ammunition in a fight that is far from over". In 2010, Louisiana Representative John Fleming hosted the Defending Life annual publication event . At the gala for the 40th anniversary of AUL, u. a. Carly Fiorina (former Hewlett-Packard CEO and Senate nominee from California), the Senator for Utah Orrin Hatch , the Senator for Alabama Jeff Sessions , L. Brent Bozell III (Founder and President of the Media Research Center ) and the Representative for North Carolina Renee Ellmers . On May 31, 2012, House Speaker John Boehner issued a press release on the occasion of the presentation of the Henry Hyde Defender of Life Award from AUL to Chris Smith , Representative for New Jersey, in which Boehner Smith's work for the Pro-Life Praised movement; Boehner himself received the award in 2010. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer published a press release on her office's website expressing her gratitude and celebrating the fact that AUL Arizona was named a "2013 Pro-Life All Star" (for Arizona's "significant pro-life successes in 2012 "). Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal issued a press release on January 13, 2013 expressing his pride in having Louisiana's placement at the top of AUL's "Life List". Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise also proudly referred to this AUL assessment in a speech in the House of Representatives on June 18, 2013.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Americans United for Life: Bent on Ending Abortion at All Costs ( Memento from July 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ^ Carol Mason, Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics . Cornell University Press, Ithaca 2002, ISBN 978-0-8014-3920-9 , p. 140.
  3. ^ Roy M. Mersky, Gary R. Hartman (Eds.): A Documentary History of the Legal Aspects of Abortion in the United States: Roe v. Wade , Volume 1. FB Rothman, Littleton, CO, 1993, p. 459.
  4. ^ Keith Cassidy, "The Right to Life Movement," in: Donald T. Critchlow: The Politics of Abortion and Birth Control in Historical Perspective . The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA, 1996, p. 142.
  5. ↑ Tim Townsend and Blythe Bernhard: Akin appears to have picked up conclusions from 1972 article now hotly disputed. In: St. Louis Post-Dispatch. August 21, 2012, accessed July 14, 2013 .
  6. ^ Karen O'Connor and Lee Epstein: Public interest law groups: institutional profiles . Greenwood Press, New York 1989, p. 22.
  7. ↑ Kenan Heise: Dennis J. Horan, 56. Led Chicago Law Firm. In: Chicago Tribune. May 3, 1988, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  8. ↑ See e.g. B. Washington Post, "Supreme Court decision revives abortion issue," The Tuscaloosa News Jul. 1, 1977, p. 8; Richard Carelli, AP : Court Eyes Congress Refusal - Ruling Set On Abortion Aid, Kentucky New Era , Nov. 26, 1979, p. 2; UPI : "Court upholds ban on abortion funds", Lodi News-Sentinel , July 1, 1980, p. 1.
  9. ↑ Barbara M. Yarnold: Abortion politics in the federal courts: right versus right . Praeger, Westport, Connecticut 1995, pp. 106-111.
  10. ↑ Linda Greenhouse: Washington Talk; The Right-to-Die Issue, Personified. December 21, 1989, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  11. ↑ Richard Carelli / AP: “'Right-to-die' struggle had impact on nation”, The Free Lance-Star , December 27, 1990, p. 17.
  12. ↑ a b Kate Sheppard: Wham, Bam, Sonogram! Meet the Ladies Setting the New Pro-Life Agenda. From transvaginal ultrasounds to attacks on Planned Parenthood, Americans United for Life is targeting reproductive rights one state at a time. In: Mother Jones . 2012, accessed on July 9, 2013 .
  13. ↑ a b c d e Karen McVeigh: Anti-abortion group drafting legislation to limit women's right to choose. Americans United for Life campaign to undo on a state-by-state basis the legal rights to abortion enshrined in Roe v. Calf. In: guardian.co.uk . May 25, 2012, accessed July 9, 2013 .
  14. ↑ Brady Dennis and Sarah Kliff: Obama administration drops fight to keep age restrictions on Plan B sales. In: Washington Post. June 11, 2013, accessed July 10, 2013 .
  15. ↑ Nick Baumann and Daniel Schulman: Revealed: The Group Behind the Bills that Could Legalize Killing Abortion Providers. It's no coincidence that bills to expand justifiable homicide laws have popped up in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. Meet the group that launched the effort. In: Mother Jones . February 28, 2011, accessed July 11, 2013 .
  16. ^ Karen O'Connor: "Ginsburg, Ruth Bader", in: Kermit L. Hall (Ed.): The Oxford companion to the Supreme Court of the United States . 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, New York City, 2005, p. 393.
  17. ↑ http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/ConfirmationHearingD
  18. ↑ http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/HearingDay4Part
  19. ↑ David G. Savage and James Oliphant: Sotomayor is grilled on abortion and gun rights. GOP senators press the Supreme Court nominee for her views on controversial subjects. But Sotomayor avoids engaging with her questioners and sticks to her judicial record. In: Los Angeles Times. July 16, 2009, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  20. ↑ Deborah Tedford and Maria Godoy: Senate Moves Closer To Sotomayor Vote. In: NPR. July 16, 2009, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  21. ↑ http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Day4L
  22. ^ Mark Arsenault: Groups seek forum by fighting Kagan. See chance to raise cash and profiles. In: The Boston Globe. June 10, 2010, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  23. ↑ Sarah Pavlus: Wash Times falsely claims "Kagan's foreign law trumps" constitutional law. In: Media Matters for America. May 26, 2010, accessed July 14, 2013 . ; see also Sarah Pavlus: Kagan didn't "drop" con-law for "foreign law" at Harvard. In: Media Matters for America. May 25, 2010, accessed July 14, 2013 .
  24. ↑ Media Matters Staff: UPDATED: Myths and falsehoods about Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination. Myth: Kagan believes that foreign law trumps constitutional law. June 27, 2010, accessed July 14, 2013 .
  25. ↑ Sarah Pavlus: Beck spreads blatant falsehood about Kagan's Harvard record. In: Media Matters for America. May 28, 2010, accessed July 14, 2013 .
  26. ↑ Sarah Pavlus and Adam Shah: Right-wing bloggers promote false suggestion did Kagan song about abortion issue. In: Media Matters for America. July 16, 2010, accessed July 14, 2013 .
  27. ↑ http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/KaganConfirmationHea
  28. ^ David Catanese: Norton wins inaugural AUL nod. August 5, 2010, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  29. ^ Julian Pecquet: Anti-abortion group targets 12 Democrats. In: The Hill's Healthwatch. October 5, 2010, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  30. ↑ Joe Mandak: Pa. rep wants anti-abortion radio attack ad pulled. In: The Boston Globe. Associated Press, October 7, 2010, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  31. ↑ Jessica Brady: Americans United For Life Hits Wrong Salazar In Attack Ad. In: Huffington Post. Associated Press October 7, 2010; archived from the original February 4, 2016 ; accessed on July 12, 2013 .
  32. ^ Jake Sherman: Anti-abortion group Americans United for Life lobbies against Rep. Fred Upton. In: Politico. November 30, 2010, accessed July 12, 2013 .
  33. ↑ Emily Bazelon: Charmaine Yoest's Cheerful War on Abortion. In: The New York Times. November 2, 2012, accessed July 11, 2013 .
  34. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from February 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  35. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of December 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  36. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  37. ↑ http://www.gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=newsroom&tmp=detail&articleID=3835
  38. ↑ http://beta.congress.gov/congressional-record/2013/06/18/house-section/article/H3730-1