Wednesday, December 14, 2011

In This Issue: AUL plays key role in South Dakota abortion case detailing possible suicide risks for women and more elements of President Obama’s Health Care Law reveal a pro-abortion bias in the coming coverage.

Eighth Circuit Court Calls on AUL in South Dakota case
demonstrating the risk of suicide following abortion

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals late last week asked AUL to re-file an amicus brief detailing the risk of suicide following abortion. The request came as part of the Circuit’s extremely rare move to rehear arguments on South Dakota’s law requiring that women be informed of the risk of suicide that can follow abortion (“suicide advisory”). At the heart of the matter is whether women in South Dakota will be told the possible consequences of choosing abortion.

AUL originally filed the brief two years ago on behalf of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and other medical organizations, demonstrating to the appellate court testimony and medical evidence detailing an increased risk of suicide following abortion.

While two judges on the original Eighth Circuit panel voted to strike South Dakota’s suicide advisory, the third—Judge Gruender—wrote a strong and well-reasoned dissent that included much of the information and arguments cited in AUL’s brief.

His analysis appears to have sparked the Eighth Circuit’s very rare decision to reconsider the previous decision striking the suicide advisory. If the Eighth Circuit upholds the advisory, that would allow for every state in the Eighth Circuit—Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota—to enact similar requirements. And it could spark a test case before the U.S. Supreme Court that would enable the Court to look at medical data that specifically verifies what it only assumed to be true in 2007 when it decided Gonzales v. Carhart (a decision upholding the federal ban on partial-birth abortion): that women suffer psychological harm after abortion.

AUL’s brief, re-filed this week, will now be considered by the entire Eighth Circuit panel as it reconsiders the constitutionality of South Dakota’s suicide advisory. Oral argument in the case will be heard on January 9. For more analysis of this case from AUL’s legal team, click here.

The Road to Roe (and Doe)

Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court oral arguments in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. (Actually the first round of arguments, though they didn’t know that at the time. The re-arguments in Roe and Doe were made on October 11, 1972.)

Roe was argued at 10am on Monday, December 13, 1971. Sarah Weddington, at 26, represented the Texas plaintiffs; Jay Floyd, an Assistant Attorney General, represented the State of Texas. That argument was immediately followed by the argument in Doe. Margie Pitts Hames represented the Georgia plaintiffs. Dorothy Beasley, an Assistant Attorney General, represented the State of Georgia.

For understanding how and why Roe and Doe were decided the way they were, reading the transcripts of the two oral arguments is essential, and it’s helpful to listen to the oral arguments while following the transcripts. As a service to researchers, AUL has produced corrected copies of the transcripts based on a close comparison of the official transcripts with the audios. To listen to such crucial legal history, click here.

Good Morning America

On C-SPAN’s nationally broadcast “Washington Journal” program Monday morning, AUL president and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest answered some thoughtful and extremely quirky questions about abortion in our society as well as the possible impact of the issue in the 2012 elections. To see the 45 minute broadcast, click here.

The Real Concern:
Obama’s Insurance Mandate

It is truly remarkable how quickly a new law or regulation can be characterized as “indispensable,” observed AUL Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs William Sanders and AUL staff attorney Mary Harned writing for LifeNews. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is currently fundraising with a plea that “millions of women” could be on the verge of losing their existing contraceptive coverage.

Why? Because concerned Americans, including some members of Congress, want the Obama Administration to modify its new regulation that requires private insurance plans to cover all “FDA-approved contraceptives,” including those that have a life-ending mechanism, under the authority of the preventive care mandate in the Affordable Care Act.


While this requirement is accompanied by a narrow exception for religious employers only—narrowly defined as those that have the “inculcation of religious values” as their purpose, primarily employ and serve persons who share their religious tenets, and have a non-profit status under IRS (hence, for instance, pro-life groups such as AUL would have no basis to object to the life-ending “contraception” coverage because we do not meet all three criteria)—by August 2012 most employers who have an objection to providing insurance coverage for contraception, including drugs classified as “contraception” that have a life-ending mechanism, will be forced to choose between providing such coverage or no insurance coverage for their employees at all.

For more of their analysis, click here.

In the News

Dr. Charmaine Yoest Featured in a Citizens United Unique Production

This week in Iowa, Citizens United's movie The Gift of Life premieres. This film features personal stories told by those who have been impacted by abortion. These poignant stories of suffering, love and life are intertwined with discussions by policy experts, including AUL's Charmaine Yoest, and it is narrated by former Gov. Mike Huckabee. For more details, click here.

Plan B “Emergency Contraception” in the News: Many journalists covered the events of last week in which HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decided NOT to allow so called “emergency contraception” to be made available over the counter, citing concerns over the ability of young girls to use the drugs without adult supervision. “AUL [Americans United for Life] was very pleased that the administration took the viewpoint that young girls need adult supervision for taking what is a dangerous drug,” said group spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick to World Magazine. “It was a good decision, however AUL would encourage the administration to review much more broadly the healthcare guidelines … with those same sentiments. Presently the preventive care guidelines are calling abortion-inducing drugs contraceptives.” AUL was widely covered for its analysis of the events. To read more, click here.

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