Wednesday, June 23, 2010
This Week's Feature

Kagan’s Admiration of Marshall Could Have ‘Grave Consequences’ for Unborn



William Saunders, AUL’s Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs, warned in an op-ed published in yesterday’s Roll Call, the daily newspaper of Capitol Hill, that Elena Kagan’s admiration for Thurgood Marshall “could have grave consequences should she become another agenda-driven judge on the Supreme Court.”

Kagan, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Marshall, has called his constitutional interpretation “a thing of glory.” But, as Saunders notes, “Justice Marshall frequently dissented on cases involving reasonable restrictions to abortion. ... [He] believed that the Fourteenth Amendment mandated that states pay for abortions.” He was also against parental notification and waiting-period laws.

Saunders observes, “If President Obama were sincere about finding ‘common ground' with those in the pro-life movement, then reasonable restrictions on abortion should be something a Supreme Court justice would uphold. Elena Kagan must answer questions about whether she agrees with her mentor’s opposition to abortion regulations.” Read more on the AUL Blog.

On The Docket

Supreme Court ‘One Vote’ Away from Reversing Key Pro-Life Decision

On Monday, Americans United for Life hosted a reception to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Harris v. McRae, the Supreme Court decision that upheld the Hyde Amendment, resolving a four-year legal battle to ensure that Congress may prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding abortion. AUL’s attorneys argued the case, securing a major victory for the pro-life movement. In her remarks opening the reception, AUL President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest reminded attendees, “We won Harris v. McRae with one vote.” Among those who opposed the decision were Justice John Paul Stevens, whose seat Obama proposes to fill with Elena Kagan, and Justice Thurgood Marshall, for whom Kagan clerked. Click here to see the video of Dr. Yoest’s remarks.

FDA Panel OKs Version of Abortion Drug RU-486 as ‘Emergency Contraception’

AUL Staff Counsel Anna Franzonello reports on the AUL Blog that the drug Ulipristal, to be marketed in the United States as an “emergency contraceptive” called “Ella,” received approval from an FDA advisory panel. This drug could end the life of a developing human embryo and is the “next generation” of the abortion drug RU-486. Ella, like RU-486, is a selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM). A progesterone blocker, SPRM works to interfere with the developing human embryo, causing it to die by either interfering with the uterine lining and preventing implantation, or by starving an already implanted embryo. Read more about the panel’s decision, and the dangers it poses to unborn lives and women’s health, on the AUL Blog.

Politico Features Yoest in Story on Bid to Allow Abortions at Military Facilities

The popular newspaper and Web site Politico this week featured Dr. Charmaine Yoest as a leading pro-life voice opposing a Senate amendment to the defense authorization bill that would authorize military hospitals to perform elective abortions. “They’re using the military as a wedge and a way to implement their agenda,” she said of those supporting the amendment. “I see them being very craven in looking to use the military to put the stamp of approval of federal government on abortion.” Click here to read a special report on the AUL Blog by our Staff Counsel Anna Franzonello, giving details about this new effort to direct taxpayer dollars toward ending the lives of the unborn.