For a Pro-Life Take on the GOP Platform, Call AULA

TAMPA, FL (8/21/12) -- AUL Action Vice President of Government Affairs Dan McConchie and AUL Staff Counsel Kellie Fiedorek are at the Republican Platform in Tampa, Florida working to ensure that the 2012 Republican Platform remains strongly pro-life. Legislative insiders, they are tracking the trends for life in the election cycle.

"We are on the ground working with state delegates from around the country to ensure the platform remains committed to defending the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life, prioritizes the health and well-being of women, and protects the freedom of conscience," said McConchie, during a break from platform debates.  

To contact AULA on the ground for inside information on what is taking place at the platform discussions and how AUL Action is making sure that the Republican Platform affirms the dignity of all human life consistent with the first guarantees of the Declaration of Independence, e-mail: press@aul.org.  

AND STAY TUNED: Next week Americans United for Life Action President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest will be in Tampa working to ensure that everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. Soon to be announced, AULA's strategic "Life Counts 2012" initiative, an integrated campaign with a unique online appeal.   

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AUL Action is the legislative action arm of Americans United for Life, a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization whose vision since 1971 is a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. AULA played an important role during the Health Care Reform debates because of its opposition to taxpayer funded abortion, which included pivotal advertising campaigns in 14 congressional districts and extensive work on Capitol Hill. AULA's efforts during the last two Supreme Court confirmation events led to Dr. Yoest being asked to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee twice. AUL's legal team has been involved in every abortion-related case before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the successful defense of the Hyde Amendment. AUL also publishes Defending Life, the most comprehensive state-by-state legal guide of its kind, which is distributed annually to legislators across the nation.

NHDP - Democratic Leaders Call On Ovide to Tell NH Citizens: What Does It Mean to Be "Scott Walker on Steroids"?

Will You Eliminate All Collective Bargaining? Repeal NH's Equal Pay Law? Repeal Contraception Equity? De-Fund Planned Parenthood?

CONCORD - Ovide Lamontagne should tell the people of New Hampshire what he means when he promises to be "Scott Walker on steroids," Democratic leaders said today.

"Ovide Lamontagne has always radical social agenda - he has long pushed to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban all abortions, and even some forms of birth control," said Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen.

"So Ovide Lamontagne should tell us will he repeal New Hampshire's Equal Pay law? Will he repeal New Hampshire's birth control equity law? Will he defund Planned Parenthood? These are all things Scott Walker did - or tried to do - in Wisconsin.The people of New Hampshire deserve to know if Ovide Lamontagne plans to follow Scott Walker's example on these important issues."  

Lamontagne made the comments at a forum at the Tuscan Kitchen in Salem.  

Ovide Lamontagne testified on - and promised he would make a priority as Governor - a so-called right-to-work law, which would void portions of existing agreements between workers and their employers. Scott Walker attempted to eliminate collective bargaining rights altogether for some public employees - even though employees had made significant givebacks on their contracts, saving the state money.

"Does being Scott Walker on steroids mean that Ovide will take away the rights of both public and private employees to negotiate agreements with their employers? Ovide Lamontagne should tell the people of New Hampshire what he means, and what it will mean to them," Rep Jeff Goley said.

"As Governor, John Lynch has brought our state together to focus on solving problems. Ovide Lamontagne has already said he wants to be 'radically different' than Gov. Lynch, and now we may know what he means," Larsen said. "Like Scott Walker, it appears that Ovide Lamontagne plans  to open war on workers and women, tearing our state apart, instead of bringing us together to build a stronger economy for middle-class families. " 

NH DHHS - New Hampshire Releases Teen Birth Data

Concord, NH - New Hampshire is proud to once again have the lowest teen

birth rate in the country. According to data from the National Center for

Health Statistics, New Hampshire’s teen birth rate for 2010 was 15.6 per

1,000 births (among 15- to 19-year-olds). About three-quarters of those

teen births occur among 18- to 19-year-olds.



Throughout the nation, teen birth rates are at a historic low of 34.3

births per 1,000 women aged 15–19. In fact, fewer babies were born to

teenagers in 2010 in the United States than in any year since 1946. Teen

births peaked in 1991, but have since declined steadily.



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that there

has been an increase in teen pregnancy prevention messages aimed at

adolescents, and teens have made choices in the past 20 years to be less

sexually active and use more contraception when they do have sex. In 2011,

47.5% of New Hampshire high school seniors reported ever having sex on the

Youth Risk Behavior Survey, similar to, although slightly higher than, the

2009 national rate of 46%. But in New Hampshire, among those teens who do

have sex, a greater proportion of them use contraception to prevent

pregnancy than do teens in the rest of the country.



Although the overall New Hampshire teen birth rate is low, just looking at

the State average does not tell the whole story. There are New Hampshire

cities and counties where teen birth rates are much higher. Nine percent of

births in Manchester were to teen mothers in 2007, which equals a teen

birth rate of 42.3 per 1,000, which is higher than the national rate.

Sullivan County is among the counties with a higher than the State rate of

teen births at 30.6 per 1,000 births.



“Teens have lots of questions about sex,” said Dr. José Montero, Director

of Public Health at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human

Services (DHHS), “and we know that the source they’d most like to go to for

answers is their parents. Age-appropriate conversations about healthy

relationships should begin early in a child's life and continue through

adolescence. New Hampshire should be proud of its families and teens for

the choices they have made.”



The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of

Public Health Services (DPHS) will soon work with community-based agencies

in Manchester and Sullivan County to support the Personal Responsibility

Education Program (PREP). PREP will replicate evidence-based effective

programs that have been shown to help reduce sexual activity, increase

contraceptive use in already sexually active youth, and ultimately reduce

teen pregnancy. In addition, PREP works with teens to build important life

skills such as financial literacy, education and employment preparation

skills, and healthy parent/child communication skills. PREP compliments

other teen pregnancy-prevention initiatives already supported by DPHS and

communities, such as abstinence education and access to comprehensive

reproductive health care.

NHDP - Where's Ovide? On Women's Health Care, Does Ovide Stand with Romney, O'Brien and Smith?

Does Ovide Support Efforts to De-Fund Planned Parenthood, Taking Away Essential Health Care Services from Women across New Hampshire?

CONCORD - Where does Republican Gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne stand on efforts to de-fund Planned Parenthood, taking away access to essential health care service from thousands of New Hampshire women?

Today, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee is holding a hearing on House Bill 228, a bill that would de-fund Planned Parenthood and any other organization that provides legal abortion services, including hospitals (neither state nor federal funds are used to pay for abortion services). The legislation, by discriminating against providers of legal services, could put the state's entire Medicaid program at risk.

The legislation is part of a larger push nationally and in New Hampshire by some Republicans to "defund" Planned Parenthood. Republican gubernatorial candidate Kevin Smith has voiced his support for de-funding Planned Parenthood, holding a press conference this summer in support of the Executive Council's action to block a contract to the organization

Likely Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has recently declared that he would "get rid" of Planned Parenthood.  The missing voice is that of Ovide Lamontagne. 

"Women in this state deserve to know, if elected Governor, will Ovide Lamontagne be the rubber stamp that Bill O'Brien needs to strip away their access to essential services for political gain?" said Collin Gately, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Democratic Party. 

"Ovide Lamontagne owes it to the women of the New Hampshire to explain whether or not he supports the continued efforts of Bill O'Brien and the New Hampshire House to put the state between women and their health care providers" Gately said.

This is just the latest attack on women's health lead by Bill O'Brien and House Republicans.  Recently, the House voted for reckless legislation that would require doctors to provide false information to patients and repeal insurance coverage for contraception.

AUL - First Amendment Rights is a Winning Issue

Americans United for Life Takes Fight for Conscience Rights to the Grassroots

Americans United for Life Action scores key vote on First Amendment Conscience Rights, telling elected officials, “This issue counts for
life at the ballot box."

Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest announced last week at a Capitol Hill news conference the first launch of a nationwide, educational campaign in support of the First Amendment Right of Conscience shared by all Americans. Dr. Yoest noted that the effort was vital because of  “the unprecedented attack by the Obama Administration on this fundamental right.” A centerpiece to the campaign is a video that explains how by forcing an abortion-inducing drug mandate on all Americans, the Obama Administration “has put the ‘Con’ in contraception.” Click here to watch the video.

A debate over First Amendment freedom of religion and rights of conscience has become tied up with implementation of Obamacare as the President and his administration are forcing all Americans to buy or provide insurance that includes life-ending drugs. Previously, organizations, such as hospitals run by churches, have been able to opt out of coverage of products and services (such as abortion) that violate their consciences. But no more.

“AUL testified several times as the Obama Administration was creating the guidelines that force all Americans to pay for life-ending drugs, asking for protection for people’s rights of conscience. But our concerns were ignored. Now the Obama Administration is putting the full force of the federal government behind its efforts to force funding and cooperation with the abortion industry,” said Dr. Yoest. “It is vital that people understand that unless something changes, they will no longer be able to say no to the agenda of any White House.”

Immediately upon release, the video drew attention, with House Speaker John Boeher tweeting about the project while NARAL attacked it. And reports of the educational effort started to gather media momentum.

Washington Post says Grassroots Focusing on Their
Loss of First Amendment Freedoms

On Thursday, members of the Senate attempted to protect the First Amendment Right of Conscience of all Americans with the Blunt Amendment, which would have restored the tradition of conscience protections. But the effort failed along mainly party lines.

According to the The Washington Post, however, the vote showed the power of this issue at the grassroots.

"I think this vote was notable in that almost all of the GOP conference stuck together,” said a Republican aide, noting that three Democrats joined them, “despite the amount of money spent on the other side and the extremely hyperbolic and misleading rhetoric that arose on this issue.” To read the entire Washington Post account, click here.

Calling the vote “a travesty,” Dr. Yoest said that Americans United for Life Action would be scoring the Blunt vote, as well as pending legislation in the House, as a life vote of national importance. And AULA will continue to work the issue in Congress as a top legislative priority.

"Across the country, outrage over forcing Americans to pay for an abortion-inducing drug mandate is growing,” said Dr. Yoest. “We will remember in November."

Life Counts in 2012 … and so do Votes

As part of AULA’s “Life Counts”campaign in 2012, a petition has been established so that “We The People” can call on all elected officials to protect the Constitution’s First Amendment Conscience Rights of all Americans … or seek other employment.

“AULA will ensure that this issue stays at the forefront of the voters’ minds because this fundamental freedom to choose life should not be denied,” said Dr. Yoest. “This issue is a game changer, and this campaign will continue through November.”

Click here to sign the petition and to see other actions that can be taken to protect Life.

In the News

Americans United for Life … “a major architect of state-level anti-choice laws”

Backhanded compliment from the left-leaning Salon.

Meanwhile, other issues were a play across the country, including:

From the Washington Times and featured on the Drudge Report:

Article Titled: “Obama defunds ‘snowflake babies’” reporting that “the federal government’s only program aimed at preventing the discarding of ‘extra’ frozen human embryos is itself in danger of being discarded.”

AUL attorney Mailee Smith (at right) weighed in with analysis and commentary. “Why would the Obama administration cut $2 million for adoption awareness, but keep $1 million a day for Planned Parenthood?” she asked. "What people disagree about is the solution for these embryos," she said, and if there is no support for embryo adoption, "what we're seeing is the elimination of the moral solution." To read more, click here.

At Life News:

AUL Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs William Saunders (below left) and AUL attorney Mailee Smith discuss the moral implication of killing children after they are born in an op-ed titled: “After-Birth Abortions and Infanticide, Where Does it End?”

“On February 23, two ‘ethicists’ published an article<n the Journal of Medical Ethics arguing for ‘after-birth abortion.’  In their words, ‘killing a newborn’ should be ‘permissible in all cases where abortion is [permissible], including cases where the newborn is not disabled.’ It’s hard to know what is more disturbing.  That two ‘ethicists’ would argue for the killing of newborns for any reason, or that a well-known journal would publish such a heinous suggestion.” To read more, click here.

In the Christian Post:

An article about AUL’s “A Year in the Life Report” on pro-life gains and predictions of trends in 2012, noting,  “A new report from Americans United for Life contends that Roe v. Wade is being overturned on a state by state basis through a growing number of pro-life legislation.” To read more, click here.

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