AUL -

Wednesday, August 4, 2010
This Week's Feature

New Bipartisan Bill Would End Taxpayer Funding of Abortion ‘Once and for All’

U.S. Representatives Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Dan Lipinski (D-Ill) last week introduced the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” which would establish a permanent government-wide prohibition on the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion. The bill now has 162 co-sponsors from both parties.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to taxpayer-funded abortion, and the ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act’ will comprehensively end this practice,” said Americans United for Life Action President & CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. “Congress can act now and fix this problem once and for all, and we are urging our grassroots activists across the nation to contact their representatives and support this sensible legislation.” Learn more about this vitally important legislation at the AUL Action Blog.


On The Docket

It’s Official: Health Care Law Permits Taxpayer-Subsidized Abortions

The need for the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” was confirmed July 23 when the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a memorandum addressing whether the new health care reform law prohibits states from using federal funds for abortions. The CRS reached the same conclusion that AUL reached both during and after the health care reform debate: nothing in the health care reform legislation, President Obama’s Executive Order regarding abortion funding, or any other law prohibits the use of federal tax dollars for abortions through states’ high-risk insurance pools. AUL Staff Counsel Mary Harned has more details at the AUL Blog.

AUL, Congress Members Urge FDA to Reject Abortion Drug

Americans United for Life last week co-signed a letter to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, urging the administration not to approve the new abortion drug ella. This week, ninety members of Congress, including 14 Democrats, followed suit with their own letter to the commissioner making the same urgent request.

The letter signed by AUL, written by the ella Causes Abortion Committee, states that the drug, which is being marketed as an emergency contraceptive, is in fact the next generation of the abortion drug, RU-486. Like RU-486, ella is a selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM). As a progesterone blocker, an 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 implanted embryo. Women deserve to be fully informed that ella may interfere with and kill a developing embryo and does not simply prevent conception.

Serious concerns also exist about ella’s risk to women’s health. Ella’s chemical make-up and mode of action are very similar to RU-486, which is known to cause serious adverse health risks such as severe bleeding, ruptured tubal pregnancies, serious infections, and even death. Learn more at the AUL Blog.

AUL Action Staff Meet State Lawmakers at National Conference

Daniel McConchie, Vice President of Government Affairs for AUL Action, along with AUL Action Staff Counsel Anna Franzonello, networked with state lawmakers from around the country last week at the 2010 Legislative Summit hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures in Louisville, Kentucky. AUL Action was the only pro-life group represented at the event, while seven pro-abortion groups were promoting their agenda. For more information, go to the AUL Action blog.