FROM AUL

Yesterday, a group of pro-life Senators led by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) banded together, leading an effort to block a Senate Defense-spending bill that would have opened the door for taxpayer-funded abortions on military bases. The 56-43 vote in the U.S. Senate fell four votes short of the 60 votes the bill’s proponents needed to move it forward.




Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of AUL Action, recognized McCain and his colleagues for outstanding work as they "led the fight to win today’s key vote rejecting taxpayer-funded abortion in the military." The vote was a major setback for the abortion industry's agenda in Washington as its leaders fight to expand abortion without limitations and at any price.



"The momentum is on the side of Life," said Yoest. "We stopped taxpayer-funded abortion on military bases against overwhelming odds in the Senate. If one vote had gone the other way, the result would be different. That's why we must remain steadfast in our fight."



We've been updating you for weeks on our fight to stop the Burris Amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill, and - after yesterday - experts believe that this issue is now dead during this Congressional session.



"Our goal," Yoest told Bench Briefs, “is to stop bad measures like the Burris Amendment. But we have a bigger goal too, which is to restore a culture of Life in America. If we are going to succeed, we'll need a different Senate next year - a Senate that respects Life."



National Review and The Washington Times both featured opinion pieces on the Burris Amendment by AUL’s Denise Burke this week, click here to read them.





On The Docket



Assisted Suicide Decision in Montana Underscores Need for Legislation



Engage, a quarterly legal journal from The Federalist Society, is featuring an article from William Saunders, AUL’s Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs. In the article, Saunders provides detailed legal analysis of Baxter v. Montana, a recent case in which a court determined that there is nothing in state law to prohibit assisted suicide.



“This is a murky issue right now,” says Saunders. “It’s unclear legally speaking what the answer is. Because common sense does not always prevail in the courts, a legislative solution is the only way to definitively ensure this practice is banned.”



The Montana ruling, which is out of line with other state and federal court decisions, begs a simple question: If the state won’t prevent assisted suicide, will the state allow the practice? AUL has a specific solution. Our model bill, the Assisted Suicide Ban Act, would completely ban the practice and clear up any “gray areas” created by the courts.



Read Saunder’s Engage piece on Baxter v. Montana by clicking here.



False “Promises” of Embryo-Destructive Research Touted at Senate Hearing



Last Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services held a hearing on “The Promise of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.” However, while many in the scientific community promote embryo-destructive research as full of “promise” and “hope,” the reality is that this research destroys lives.



“The American people do not want their tax dollars supporting research or experimentation on living human beings,” said Kellie Fiedorek, a member of AUL’s legal team who attended the hearing. “We are working to ensure that Congress does not allow research that destroys life, especially when non-destructive techniques have proven successful.”



The Senate is considering legislation, introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), that would allow federal funding of embryo-destructive research.