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American Life League

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American Life League

Founded by Judie and Paul Brown with help from right-wing strategist Paul Weyrich, the American Life League (ALL) is a spin-off from the National Right to Life Committee with a more grassroots orientation. ALL is closely aligned with the Catholic Church and opposes birth control, stem cell research and euthanasia. ALL was an enthusiastic backer of the extreme anti-abortion tactics promoted by Operation Rescue.

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Anti-Choice Leader Claims Obama Supports Black Genocide

Submitted by Brian Tashman on April 15, 2011 - 8:49am

While one anti-choice group is using President Obama’s image to attack legal abortion as black genocide, others are coming out saying that President Obama is advocating the extermination of African Americans because he is pro-choice. The abortion as “black genocide” myth is gaining increasing prominence in the anti-choice community, and the Family Research Council even asserted that Planned Parenthood was responsible for Washington D.C.’s shrinking black population.

Jim Sedlak of the American Life League, a champion of the radical personhood laws, argued that statistics showing that black women have a disproportionate number of abortions is proof that the black community is targeted by abortion providers. After D.C. mayor Vince Gray was arrested for protesting the budget deal that prevented the city from using local tax dollars to help low-income women access reproductive healthcare, Sedlak said that that “Margaret Sanger would be proud of her elitist black disciples” like Obama and Gray, asking, “with leaders like the president and the DC mayor, is it any surprise this black genocide continues?”:

With those statistics in mind, the American Life League said it is surprised that “America’s first black president drew a bizarre line in the sand declaring he would shut down the government of the United States to keep federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the organization that aborts over 125,000 black children nationwide each year.”

“The president of the United States champions aborting over one-third of the next generation of African-Americans as empowerment,” said Jim Sedlak, vice president of American Life League. “We do not. We see it as the worst bigotry of low expectations. Margaret Sanger would be proud of her elitist black disciples. We are not.”

Based on its calculations, ALL says Planned Parenthood is responsible for the death of at least 126,601 black unborn children each year.

“With leaders like the president and the DC mayor, is it any surprise this black genocide continues? It needs to stop and the place to start is with the total defunding of the organization where it began: Planned Parenthood,” Sedlak concluded.

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Right Wing Pushes “Super Death Panel” Myth

Submitted by Brian Tashman on December 30, 2010 - 10:52am

After The New York Times reported that the new health care reform law will cover “voluntary advance care planning” as a reimbursable Medicare service, the Obama Administration immediately feared pushback from right-wing opponents of reform. Anti-reform politicians and activists jumped on a widely-discredited and disputed article by former New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey, who predicted that the reform bill will lead to government control over end-of-life decisions.

Republicans pounced on the false claim, as Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) declared that the country “should not have a government run plan to decide when to pull the plug on grandma” and House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) warned that the “provision may start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia.” Most famously, Sarah Palin wrote on Facebook that her “baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide” if he is “worthy of health care.” The New York Times said that “Ms. McCaughey has been the hammer to Ms. Palin’s nail” as the two “have driven some of the most disturbing, and distorted, claims about the proposals.”

Not only is the service voluntary, but Medscape Medical News reports that since January 1, 2009, “Medicare has been paying for [end-of-life care plans] in a limited fashion — and with little if any protest,” and the American Academy Family of Physicians and American College of Physicians applauded the move as a way to “tailor care” for each patient.

Conservatives though are already decrying the decision as the return of the death panels. Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel condemned what he called “a super death panel” that will put “pressure on the elderly to end their lives prematurely” by targeting senior citizens:

When you have the government mandating this end-of-life counseling, they're conscripting doctors to do end-of-life counseling on a massive scale. It will be the equivalent of a super death panel. Elderly patients will get confused and will end up signing documents without having a clue what they're signing, and they will sign away care they might really want.

Spokesmen from other Religious Right groups, including the American Life League, Concerned Women For America, and Operation Rescue, also denounced the purported "death panels":

"Nothing good can come of this," said Judie Brown, the president of American Life League. "This will affect everybody's parents and grandparents and preborn babies, and it will not affect anybody for the good."

Congress must step up to cancel the regulation, Brown added. "If not, a death certificate is written for an awful lot of elderly people."

"Those of us who voted in common-sense representatives to take control of the House will be expecting to see reversals of regulations like these that run roughshod over the will of the American people," said Dr. Janice Crouse, director of the Beverly LaHaye Institute at Concerned Women for America.

…

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman called the Obama approach "Darwinist," and predicted it would lead to rationing of health care.

"When you have a fixed amount of money that is allocated to health care, it's only logical that some bureaucrat will regulate it and decide who will get treatment," Newman told WND. "That treatment will be based on some humanist, egalitarian principle that these bureaucrats always seem to hold. Their principles are Darwinist, survival of the fittest.

"My grandmother is 94 years old," Newman continued. "Suppose she breaks her hip. Are they really going to authorize that expense over a 16-year-old who has urgent needs? It was Obama who said maybe Grandma should take a pill rather than get this expensive treatment."

…

"Having just returned from the funeral of a dear lady – widow of a Navy man, both buried at Arlington National Cemetery – I couldn't be more repulsed by the idea of government-controlled death panels that will make end-of-life decisions for the most vulnerable of our citizens," Crouse added.

Conservative columnist Cal Thomas uses Charles Dickens to blast the move, and claims that it redeems Sarah Palin:

Sarah Palin deserves an apology. When she said that the new health-care law would lead to "death panels" deciding who gets life-saving treatment and who does not, she was roundly denounced and ridiculed.

…

Do you see where this leads? First the prohibition against abortion is removed and "doctors" now perform them. Then the assault on the infirm and elderly begins. Once the definition of human life changes, all human lives become potentially expendable if they don't measure up to constantly "evolving" government standards.

It will all be dressed up with the best possible motives behind it and sold to the public as the ultimate benefit. The killings, uh, terminations, will take place out of sight so as not to disturb the masses who might have a few embers of a past morality still burning in their souls. People will sign documents testifying to their desire to die, and the government will see it as a means of "reducing the surplus population," to quote Charles Dickens.

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Any Group With Just 15% Support Should Not Be Calling Anyone an "Ideologue"

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on June 29, 2010 - 4:19pm

Outside of the incessant Twittering of the Judicial Crisis Network's Carrie Severino, I haven't seen much commentary from the Right on Elena Kagan's hearing today ... and the few things I have seen have tended to be along the line of this ridiculous press release from the American Life League:

"Elena Kagan has revealed herself as the pro-abortion activist she is. The 'health of the mother' exception has long been code for abortion on demand for any reason under the sun - including financial 'health.'

"Kagan's position is clearly opposed by the majority of Americans who self-identify as pro-life. While we are not shocked that an Obama nominee would be anything but rabidly pro-death, we are compelled to demand representation from our elected leaders: this pro-abortion ideologue is not fit to serve on the Supreme Court.

While poll results may show that a bare plurality of Americans consider themselves "pro-life," a whopping 80% believe that the option should be available in certain circumstances ... like for "the health of the mother":

Only 15% believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, which is the position held by the American Life League .. and yet ALL claims that it is Kagan who is the extremist ideologue.

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Notre Dame No Longer Catholic?

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on April 9, 2009 - 2:33pm

Until today, I had never heard of "The Official Catholic Directory" (apparently also known as the "Kennedy Directory") but according to its publisher its "the most authoritative resource available" on all things Catholic:

For over 192 years, The Official Catholic Directory™ has served as a vital research and reference tool for anyone interested in the Catholic community. First published in 1817 by P.J. Kenedy & Sons, The Official Catholic Directory™ is the most authoritative resource available today on the Catholic Church. Each edition provides complete information on the Church's hierarchy, its institutions, schools, special care centers, and affiliated facilities. It offers the most comprehensive and detailed profiles on each (arch) diocese in the United States and hundreds of (arch) dioceses around the world.

Because the Catholic Church recognizes The Official Catholic Directory™ as the single authoritative directory, it achieves 100% verification and participation from each and every Catholic institution within the 208 (arch) dioceses.

And now the American Life League is calling for the University of Notre Dame to be removed from the book because of the school's invitation to President Obama to speak at its commencement:

American Life League wants the University of Notre Dame removed from the Official Catholic Directory (Kennedy Directory) - the official list of Catholic institutions in the United States.

Removal from the Kennedy Directory by Bishop John D'Arcy will cut the school off from much Catholic foundation funding.

...

"We found a tragic attitude at the University of Notre Dame -- apathy, if not hostility, toward the faith," said Judie Brown, president of ALL. "In the service of truth, we ask Bishop D'Arcy to acknowledge what the entire nation and Notre Dame itself already know: The university is backing away from the Catholic Church."

"In light of Notre Dame's past in the service of Our Lady, what is now keeping Notre Dame Catholic? Not the president who honors a man guilty of promoting an intrinsic evil; not the faculty -- notoriously liberal. The hope of Notre Dame lies with the students faithful to the mission of the Church," Brown said. "For their sake we hope and pray Notre Dame rescinds this honor to President Obama and upholds the Catholic identity that made the school one of the glories of the Catholic Church. If the university will not do this, then it should be removed from the Official Catholic Directory."

Apparently, when one of the nation's preeminent Catholic insitutions invites the President of the United States to address its students, it automatically forfeits its right to consider itself Catholic.

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Notre Dame Unleashes a Fury

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on March 23, 2009 - 11:01am

On Friday, the University of Notre Dame announced that President Obama would speak at the university’s Commencement Ceremony in May and, not surprisingly, anti-choice activists are absolutely livid.

The Cardinal Newman Society has lunched a petition to “halt this travesty immediately”:

It is an outrage and a scandal that "Our Lady's University," one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage ... Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality. Whatever may be President Obama's admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos.

The Pro-Life Action League has announced that “If Notre Dame does not disinvite Obama … the Notre Dame campus can expect a massive pro-life protest on graduation day” while the American Life League declares the invitation to be a “disgrace to every Catholic in the United States” and promises to “do all in our power to activate our supporters and friends across the country to cease their funding of Notre Dame University if the school does not rescind their invitation.”

And, never one to be outdone, Randall Terry weighed in to liken Obama to Herod and the Pharaoh and announce that he is re-locating to South Bend with the intent of making the university’s life a living hell:

[W]ould Notre Dame invite Herod to speak -- after he tried to kill Our Lady's Son, and slaughtered the Innocents in Bethlehem?  Would Notre Dame invite Pharaoh to speak -- after he ordered the drowning of Jewish boys in the Nile?  If not, how can they justify this invitation to President Obama?

We are not going to take this lying down; and we are not going to simply send emails and make phone calls. By week's end, we will have an office open and fully staffed in South Bend.  From that office, we will have nonstop activism geared to derail this invitation, and to make life miserable for those at Notre Dame who betrayed the Faith and the Innocent.

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Right Wing Leftovers

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on March 3, 2009 - 5:51pm
  • Phyllis Schlafly says that "liberals tried to filibuster the confirmation of [Samuel] Alito" and that it set "an example for Republicans to follow if President Barack Obama nominates a justice out of touch with the American people." Does that mean Alito is out of touch with the American people?

  • The Catholic League's latest enemy is Ron Howard and everyone involved in his new movie "Angels and Demons."

  • The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission announces that it will soon begin running radio commentaries called "Freedom Alerts" on American Family Radio.

  • The American Life League has launched a "STOP Sebelius" petition and ALL's President Judie Brown declares that, due to Sen. Sam Brownback's support of Sebelius' nomination, she will "never use 'pro-life' to describe him again."

  • Finally, Janet Porter declares that, in electing Barack Obama, America chose death over life and now God is cursing us:

    • And in the last election, whether with full knowledge or not, 69 million Americans chose death on Nov. 4, 2008 ... But with the choice of death comes a curse against us – as a nation and individually against those who made the choice of death last November.

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Right Wing Leftovers

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 16, 2009 - 5:51pm
  • The American Life League is angry that Krispy Kreme is giving away free doughnuts on Inauguration Day because the company's press release says it is celebrating "the freedom of choice," which ALL says is a "tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand."
  • Rep. Steve King says it is "bizarre" that Barack Obama will use his middle name when he is sworn in next week, which just serves as more evidence that King fully deserves his place among Steve Benen's "Most Offensive Member of Congress."
  • Because you can never have too many right-wingers on the radio, Mat Staver and Matt Barber will soon begin hosting "Liberty Live," which will air on 126 stations of American Family Radio's new AFR Talk network.
  • Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern has introduced a resolution calling on Congress to oppose the Freedom of Choice Act, saying it would be "an infringement on states’ rights. Abortion is not a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution but states’ rights are guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment."
  • The Traditional Values Coalition warns that President Obama and his "czars" are poised to "impose Obamunism upon our nation" and specifically singles out Tom Daschle as "most likely push the abortion and homosexual agenda ... The abortionists and homosexuals who helped get Obama elected must be thrilled with all of these czars with power to impose abortion and homosexuality on our military and federal bureaucracies.” Elsewhere, they call us a "God-hating ... anti-Christian group that is still engaged in a relentless war against traditional values."
  • Dan Gilgoff reports that, according to Ted Haggard, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regularly sent words of comfort and support in the two year following his fall," but Pelosi's office tells David Brody that Haggard's claim is "simply not true."
  • Finally, Rick Scarborough is more than a little upset that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has the temerity to start plotting a run for Governor of Texas:

    • "As a Texas conservative I am appalled by this action and call upon Senator Hutchison to do the ethically and morally right thing by writing everyone who contributed to her national campaign and offering to refund their contribution. Conservatives in Texas and around the country contributed to Senator Hutchison's campaign to fight liberals in Washington; not conservatives in Texas.

    "Rick Perry has his detractors in Texas and I have been openly critical of some of his positions as Governor, but he is solidly pro-life and pro-family and Texas has prospered under his able leadership. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is pro-choice, is apparently willing to expose her own Party in Washington to a possible filibuster proof Democratic majority by vacating her seat as US Senator, while simultaneously dividing her Party in Texas with a costly and politically divisive bid to be Governor which is not warranted."

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Is "Personhood" The Future of the Anti-Choice Movement?

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on December 11, 2008 - 4:01pm

Last week we noticed the American Life League’s Katy Walker declaring that "the idea of personhood … is really the only option left" to the anti-choice movement and declaring that she was emboldened to press forward with their agenda because the "personhood" amendment on the ballot in Colorado only managed to lose by a 3 to 1 margin there.

As we noted then, considering that the amendment was trounced throughout the state and even lost badly in Focus on the Family's stronghold in Colorado Springs, then it didn't seem like there was a particularly strong chance that it would do well elsewhere.

But it looks like "personhood" is going to be a central part of ALL's mission going forward, starting with their upcoming conference:

American Life League will feature two of the most innovative new voices in the pro-life movement at their Training and Activism Week and Personhood Conference Jan. 21-23.

...

The Personhood Conference on Jan. 23 will also feature ALL president Judie Brown, Ambassador Alan Keyes, David Bereit of 40 Days for Life, and Kristi Burton, architect of the Colorado Personhood Initiative.

"The pro-life movement has always had personhood for the preborn as our ultimate objective and the recent elections have made that an even more urgent objective," Hahnenberg said, "and we're excited to be able to start the year with a conference that will focus on just that."

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We Are Encouraged By Our 27% Showing

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on December 3, 2008 - 5:31pm

You have to hand it to the American Life League’s Katy Walker.  Despite the fact that the every one of the anti-choice movements ballot initiatives went down in defeat in the last election by wide margins, Walker says that they are going to press forward, especially with their “personhood” efforts:

With a pro-abortion president soon taking the helm in Washington, the pro-life movement will stay focused while also pursuing new ideas.

Katy Walker of the American Life League (ALL) says old approaches will continue, but a relatively new method will be pursued. "The idea of personhood in this movement is really the only thing, the only option left to us, and it's one of the best options and one of the most beautiful concepts I've heard in a long time," she contends. "We're very excited about it."
 
She defines the term. "Personhood is the idea. It's cultural change and legislative change, working towards defining all human beings as persons," Walker explains. "It's the last frontier of the civil rights movement -- that every human being deserves his rights under the law."

Walker adds that life begins at fertilization and ends at natural death. Colorado's pro-life movement was able to put a personhood amendment on the November 2008 ballot, but it failed to pass. "The fact that they got 27 percent of Colorado, which is historically a liberal state, is very hopeful, I think," she notes.

It seems as if Walker isn’t just being naïve here, but down right delusional.  Seeing the personhood amendment get trounced in Colorado by a 3 to 1 margin is certainly not cause for optimism, and playing that loss off as a victory because Colorado is a “liberal state” is ridiculous, considering that it went for George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004.

On top of that, as Laura Chapin pointed out, the personhood amendment even lost in El Paso County - which is the home of Colorado Springs, Focus on the Family, and Dr. James Dobson – 65% to 35%.

If the anti-choice movement’s “personhood” efforts can’t even win in Focus on the Family’s backyard and can muster only 27% in a state that twice went for President Bush, there is not much cause for being “hopeful” … especially if, as Walker says, “the idea of personhood … is really the only option left to us.”

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