Wednesday, July 21, 2010
This Week's Feature

Koop Says Kagan’s Actions Make Her Unfit for Court

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop published an open letter this week urging that the Senate Judiciary Committee block Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan because of her manipulation of the American Association of Gynecologists’ statement on partial-birth abortion.

Kagan “was willing to replace a medical statement with a political statement that was not supported by any existing medical data,” Koop wrote. “That is unethical, and it is disgraceful, especially for one who would be tasked with being a measured and fair-minded judge. ... I urge the Senate to reject the politicization of medical science and vote no on the Kagan nomination.”

Koop urged Senators and all the American people to read the new report by AUL Action, the sister organization of Americans United for Life, which contains “substantive evidence of Ms. Kagan’s actions in this matter.” Click here to go to the AUL Action Web site, where the report is available as a free download.

On The Docket

Yoest Reacts to Vote on Kagan

Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO, issued a statement yesterday reacting to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance the nomination of Elena Kagan to the full Senate. “Today’s vote to move forward on Elena Kagan’s nomination,” said Yoest, “is clouded by outstanding questions regarding her role in manipulating the medical statements of two major organizations on partial-birth abortion.” Dr. Yoest, in her testimony before the Committee, called for an investigation into discrepancies between Kagan’s testimony on her involvement in the partial-birth abortion debate in 1996-97 and the written record. Following up on that call, Yoest reminded Senators that AUL Action’s new report on the subject bears further scrutiny. “I strongly encourage Senators to closely examine our report and to formally investigate her role in the partial-birth abortion debate before bringing this nomination to a floor vote. Based on these concerns,” Yoest concluded, “I urge the full Senate to roundly reject her nomination."
Missouri Latest State to Opt Out of Federal Abortion Mandate

Last week, just days after Louisiana opted out of the federal health care reform law's abortion-funding mandate, Missouri followed suit, becoming the fifth state to bar insurers participating in the planned state-run health insurance exchange from offering policies that cover abortions. Missouri’s opt-out law includes provisions that will significantly enhance the state’s informed-consent protections for pregnant women.

AUL’s State Director Kerry Messer worked extensively with State Senate sponsor Rob Mayer to develop the legislation. Among its many life-protective provisions, the law requires that women seeking an abortion must be advised of the risks, be given information about the physiological characteristics of their unborn child, be presented with what resources are available to women who choose to bring their child to term, and be given the opportunity to view an ultrasound. Read more about this important new legislation on the AUL Blog.

AUL Expert Leads University Seminar on Pro-Life Law

This week, AUL Staff Counsel Mailee Smith puts on her professor’s cap as she leads a seminar on pro-life law sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity as a follow-up to its conference “Beyond Therapy: Exploring Enhancement and Human Futures.” The seminar at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., which includes guest lectures by AUL Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs William Saunders, covers historic and recent developments in federal and state laws on abortion, biotechnologies, and pro-life issues.

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.

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