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National Right to Life Committee

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50-512: Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other The National Right to Life Committee ( NRLC ) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since

100-828: A march in Madrid in October 2009 to protest plans by the government of José Luis Zapatero to legalize elective abortions and eliminate parental consent restrictions. In the United Kingdom, the most prominent anti-abortion organization is the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children . It was formed at the time of the passage of the 1967 Abortion Act which liberalized abortion law. The group campaigns against abortion, often using questionable claims, and supports protests at pregnancy clinics. The Abortion Act of 1967 had

150-786: A new 'abortion-harms-women' argument that has supplanted and transformed traditional fetal personhood arguments". Since 1998, Catholics and allies have held national anti-abortion March for Life rallies at Parliament Hill . Two have gathered over 10,000 protesters. In addition to the national protests, anti-abortionists protest abortion clinics across the nation in attempts to stop abortions from continuing. A number of anti-abortion organizations exist in Australia , including Cherish Life, Right to Life Australia , and Australian Christian Lobby . These organizations undertake various campaigning activities, including political campaign fundraising. A large portion of Australian law surrounding abortion

200-479: A part of the Christian right . They call themselves "pro-life" because they are often united in their belief that a fetus is a person that has legal rights. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , some of these organizations have turned their attention to banning abortions at the state and local level and asking the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize fetal personhood under

250-410: A program of information" with state affiliates that would inform stakeholders of the wave of proposed state legislation to liberalize statutes prohibiting abortion. The National Right to Life Committee was formalized in 1968. McHugh hired executive assistant Michael Taylor to help with the day-to-day needs of the organization. In October 1968, they published the first NRLC newsletter formally introducing

300-464: A radio program, media campaigns, and maintained press connections. Its media strategy worked to create a public image that differentiated the NRLC from allies by using medical professionals, including its president and primary spokesperson John Willke . One hallmark of their media campaign was utilizing the slogan "Love them Both" which embraces claims of women's rights and welfare through compassion to gain

350-931: A significant effect in Britain (excluding Northern Ireland). The Act states that if at least two doctors deem the reasons for abortion to be in alignment with the Act, it can legally be performed. This still means that the punishment for women who obtain abortions contrary to the Act are faced with potential life imprisonment. Doctors too can be prosecuted if they are found administering abortions without reasonable cause. The Abortion Act of 1967 did not apply in Northern Ireland . Women living there who sought abortions either had to travel to Britain to receive an abortion or potentially face criminal charges for purchasing abortion pills illegally. To this day, anti-abortion activists routinely stand outside many abortion clinics; their goal

400-466: A significant role in influencing anti-abortion opinion. Quickening , which had previously been thought to be the point at which the soul entered a human was discovered to be a relatively unimportant step in fetal development, caused many medical professionals to rethink their positions on early term abortions. Ideologically, the Hippocratic Oath and the medical mentality of that age to defend

450-483: Is also a smaller consistent life ethic movement, favoring a philosophy which opposes all forms of killing, including abortion, war , euthanasia , and capital punishment . The current movement is in part a continuation of previous debates on abortion that led to the practice being banned in all states by the late 19th century. The initial movement was led by physicians , but also included politicians and feminists . Among physicians, advances in medical knowledge played

500-467: Is an American Catholic activist organization which opposes abortion , all forms of contraception , embryonic stem cell research , and euthanasia . Its current president is co-founder Judie Brown and its headquarters is in Stafford, Virginia . Projects that American Life League has sponsored include: American Life League was founded on April 1, 1979 by Judie and Paul Brown, Gary Bauer , Focus on

550-416: Is to discourage women from entering the clinics. This is through two processes, known as "prayer vigils", which are sometimes quiet and other times said aloud to actively dissuade; and "pavement counseling", where activists approach women entering clinics in order to persuade them to continue with their pregnancies. This is a practice held in low regard by many, as it causes anxiety and distress. In Israel ,

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600-591: Is written with the composition of the Supreme Court in mind, so that the court would be less likely to block it afterwards. For instance, when Justice Anthony Kennedy was on the bench, bills were introduced that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. After the conservative Gorsuch , Barrett and Kavanaugh were appointed, legislations began to pass trigger laws . Prior to the ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , NRLC released model legislation that bans all abortions unless "necessary to prevent

650-722: The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act . In American Life League v. Reno , ALL lost in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals , and the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case. In March 1995, the American Life League boycotted the then-owners of Miramax , The Walt Disney Company , over the film Priest , in which a Roman Catholic priest deals with a variety of issues including his own homosexuality . Subsequently, ALL charged that Disney had concealed subliminal sexual messages in

700-879: The Republic of Ireland , including Pro Life Campaign , Youth Defence and the Iona Institute . The Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland (2018) provided for legal abortion in Ireland, but several anti-abortion parties still campaign, including Aontú and the National Party . In Liechtenstein , an application to legalize abortions was rejected by a slim majority in a referendum in 2011 . The opponents, which included Prince Alois , got 500 votes more and eventually settled at 52.3 percent compared with 47.7 percent. Prince Alois had announced

750-729: The US Supreme Court and the desire to gain autonomy apart from the Catholic Church , to attract more Protestants to the organization. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a campaign to amend the United States Constitution by enacting a Human Life Amendment that not only invalidated Roe v. Wade but also prohibited both the US Congress and the States from legalizing abortion in

800-694: The US congress to pass laws later known as the Comstock laws that included provisions that made it illegal to send materials used for abortion through the mail. These laws have been referenced by modern anti-abortion campaigners in the US and cited in court cases to stop the mailing of abortion medication. The United States anti-abortion movement formed as a response to the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton U.S. Supreme Court decisions with many anti-abortion organizations having emerged since then. There

850-405: The value of human life as an absolute also played a significant role in molding opinions about abortion. Meanwhile, many 19th-century feminists tended to regard abortion as an undesirable necessity forced upon women by thoughtless men. The "free love" wing of the feminist movement refused to advocate abortion and treated the practice as an example of the hideous extremes to which modern marriage

900-494: The 1980s, NRLC has influenced anti-abortion policy at national and state levels through campaign financing of anti-abortion and almost exclusively Republican candidates and writing model legislation that would restrict or ban abortion. The national organization of National Right to Life comprises the: In 1966 the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) asked James T. McHugh to begin observing trends in

950-628: The Committee co-produced the documentary The Silent Scream on abortion with Bernard Nathanson . In 1985, following 2 years of a boycott of a product of the Upjohn Company that NRLC coordinated, the Company ceased all research on abortifacient drugs. Three years later, NRLC joined other anti-abortion organizations in saying that if any company sold an abortifacient drug, the millions of Americans who opposed abortion would boycott all

1000-643: The Constitution. A Conservative MP, Cathay Wagantall , introduced a bill in 2020 seeking to ban abortions for the purpose of choosing a child's sex. Abortion in Canada is legal at all stages of pregnancy and funded in part by the Canada Health Act . In 2013, the Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper , barred the members of Parliament from discussing the matter in the Commons. Harper's move

1050-717: The Family are involved in the anti-abortion movement. In 2023, in his book Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person , Shane Claiborne , leader of the Red-Letter Christians , calls for expanding the Christian definition of the "pro-life" movement to issues other than the fight against abortion, such as gun violence , poverty , the death penalty and openness to immigration . American Life League American Life League, Inc. ( ALL )

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1100-515: The Family ’s James Dobson , and six other anti-abortion Americans after a schism with the National Right to Life Committee . Within less than a year of its founding, ALL had 68,000 members and received assistance founding ALL from Howard Phillips , publicity from The Heritage Foundation co-founder Paul Weyrich , and membership lists provided by right-wing direct mail specialist Richard Viguerie . In 1994 ALL filed suit to challenge

1150-458: The French anti-abortion movement has organized an annual March for Life . The 1920 abortion laws of France have not been entirely repealed leading to ambiguity in the nation's policies. By 1975, Simone Veil , the minister for health, introduced legislation that specifically in cases of distress "tolerated" abortion up to ten weeks. Abortions after this date are only cleared by the government if

1200-703: The NRLC's 1980 presidential election voter guides from legal challenges of improper electioneering by a nonprofit. By the 1990s, the NRLC became a major player in campaign financing through its $ 2 million campaign contributions in the 1996 presidential election . In 1999, the NRLC aggressively lobbied against the 1999 Shays-Meehan bill, which later became the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), because it would reclassify many of its and other nonpartisan groups' ads as campaign contributions. A bipartisan group of legislators including John McCain , Ronnie Shows , and Zach Wamp criticized

1250-446: The NRLC. Since its incorporation, the NRLC prioritized its politics over getting publicity due to its concern of being portrayed in a poor light and lack of funds. By 1980 NRLC's annual budget increased to $ 1,600,000 and retained a membership of 11 million, allowing the organization to invest in media strategy and establish its media department in 1984. By 1985, the organization had a communications department that produced and distributed

1300-568: The Supreme Court to a conservative majority, and in 2007 NRLC's affiliate Wisconsin Right to Life brought a case against the FEC again challenging BCRA provisions. In FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc ., the justices held that issue ads may not be banned from the months preceding a primary or general election. At the national and state level, NRLC writes model legislation that lawmakers can utilize in bills to restrict or ban abortion. Their legislation

1350-554: The United States. Its first convention as an incorporated organization was held the following month in Detroit , Michigan . At the concurrent meeting of NRLC's Board, Ed Golden of New York was elected president. Among the founding members was Mildred Jefferson , the first African-American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School . Jefferson subsequently served as president in 1975. Erma Clardy Craven spoke out against

1400-501: The abortion pill RU-486. According to Keri Folmar, the lawyer responsible for the language of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act , the term "partial-birth abortion" was developed in early 1995 at a meeting of herself, Charles T. Canady, and NRLC lobbyist Douglas Johnson. The phrase elicited strong negative reactions from a focus group and became a key phrase in NRLC's attack on abortion. In 1978, James Bopp

1450-597: The animated films The Lion King , The Little Mermaid , and Aladdin . Disney denied all the claims. Snopes states the ALL claims about both Aladdin and The Little Mermaid are false. Their claim about The Lion King is listed by the site as "legend", indicating that the claim is "essentially unprovable". In 2005, ALL was on Charity Navigator's list of highest paid CEOs , with one-third of its income spent on fundraising and administrative expenses and $ 699,857 (almost 9% of its income) paid out to its CEOs. As of 2019,

1500-606: The dangers of abortion to a woman's health and make it illegal to describe abortion as a safe medical procedure. Medvedev's wife Svetlana Medvedeva has taken up the anti-abortion cause in Russia in a weeklong national campaign against abortion called "Give Me Life!" and a "Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness" by her Foundation for Social and Cultural Initiatives in conjunction with the Russian Orthodox Church . In Spain , over one million demonstrators took part in

1550-401: The death of the pregnant woman". Enforcement strategies of the legislation include criminal penalties for anyone aiding or abetting a person seeking an abortion, selling or distributing of abortifacients, and transporting a pregnant minor to obtain an abortion. In 2022, responding to reports that a 10-year-old rape victim obtained an abortion, the group's general counsel James Bopp said that

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1600-533: The district court issued judgment on the case and the NRLC appeals to the Supreme Court. Later that year, the case was consolidated along with eleven other lawsuits into McConnell v. FEC . In the ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the control of soft money and the regulation of electioneering communications in BCRA. The death of Justice William Rehnquist and retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor changed

1650-530: The effect at once of both more closely regulating the use of abortion, and at the same time mediating and reducing the impact anti-abortion campaigns have had on the law. The first specifically anti-abortion organization in France, Laissez-les-vivre-SOS futures mères, was created in 1971 during the debate that was to lead to the Veil Law in 1975. Its main spokesman was the geneticist Jérôme Lejeune . Since 2005,

1700-698: The first President of NRLC. In the following year NRLC held its first convention at Macalester College in Saint Paul , Minnesota . "The only reason that we have a pro-life movement in this country is because of the Catholic people and the Catholic Church", stated the executive director of NRLC James T. McHugh in 1973. The NRLC was formally incorporated in May 1973, in response to the Roe v. Wade ruling of

1750-497: The group's proposed legislation would have banned that abortion; he also said that they believed she should have carried the baby, and "as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child." NRLC has affiliates in all fifty states and over 3,000 local chapters. Its Virginia affiliate, the Virginia Society for Human Life ,

1800-531: The increasing alignment of anti-abortion groups and the American right . In 1978, NRLC found itself $ 100,000 in debt after Jefferson's presidency. Rather than acknowledge her record, she left the organization to form the Right to Life Crusade. On April 1, 1979, the American Life League (ALL) was founded by Judie Brown , former public relations director of NRLC, and 9 others after a schism within

1850-655: The major anti-abortion organization is Efrat . Efrat activists primarily raise funds to relieve the "financial and social pressures " on pregnant women so that they will not terminate their pregnancies. However, this activity is only carried out in the Jewish sector in Israeli society, as Efrat officially views abortion among Jews as a demographic threat to the Jewish people. In the 19th century United States, Anthony Comstock launched an 'anti-vice crusade' that included opposition to contraception and abortion. He successfully got

1900-471: The organization and providing information on the efforts to change abortion laws. On the state level, independent right to life organizations were beginning to form and began to rely on NRLC for direction and information. The newsletter lasted until 1971. NRLC held its first meeting of nationwide anti-abortion leaders in Chicago , Illinois in 1970 at Barat College . New Jersey attorney Juan Ryan served as

1950-607: The organization for getting involved in issues that did not affect the unborn. Legislative Director Douglas Johnson defended the NRLC's involvement in campaign financing, saying that the bill "would cripple the prolife movement." In 2003, Bopp filed a lawsuit on behalf of the NRLC against the Federal Election Commission about whether BCRA violates the First Amendment in its prohibition of the use of "soft money" in campaign financing. On May 1, 2003,

2000-694: The pregnancy endangers the health of the woman or will result in the birth of a child with a severe and incurable disease. After twelve weeks, abortion, except for "therapeutic abortion, under the terms of Article 317 of the Criminal Code, is a crime, punishable by 6 months to 10 years in prison, a fine of between 1800 and 250,000 Francs, and loss of professional license." Catholics and right-wing political groups continue to protest abortion. The far-right party National Rally (formerly National Front) , has attempted unsuccessfully to decrease funding for abortions. There are several major anti-abortion groups in

2050-530: The procedure and abortion in general. The NRLC criticized Bill Clinton 's 1995 veto of a bill that would ban the procedure. The phrase was used by Congress in the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 . In 1992 and 1998, Fortune magazine recognized the NRLC as the most publicly recognized and politically effective anti-abortion organization. In 1999, Fortune ranked them as the 8th most influential public policy group working in Washington, DC. In 1984

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2100-460: The products of that company. In the 1990s the NRLC began a nationwide grassroots lobbying campaign against the Freedom of Choice Act , and announced a boycott of the French pharmaceutical company Roussel Uclaf and its American affiliates for permitting its abortion drug, mifepristone , into the United States . The U.S. National Right to Life Committee announced a 1994 U.S. boycott of all Hoechst pharmaceutical products including Altace , targeting

2150-662: The reform of policy on abortion . At the time then McHugh was Director of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) Family Life Bureau, and later became the Bishop of Camden and then of Rockville Centre . The NCCB asked McHugh during its annual conference in April 1967 to organize the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and fund the established NRLC with $ 50,000 to "initiate and coordinate

2200-450: The support of those ambivalent on the issue. In 1995, the NRLC coined the term "partial-birth abortion" to describe a new medical procedure also known as " dilation and extraction ," or D&X, and "intact D&E" in which the fetus is removed intact from the uterus after 20 weeks gestation. The organization illustrated and published drawings of the procedure in booklets and paid newspaper advertisements to generate public opposition to both

2250-646: The use of his veto in advance if necessary to prevent the introduction of abortion. Abortion is legal in Russia as an elective procedure up to the 12th week of pregnancy, and in special circumstances at later stages. The abortion issue gained renewed attention in 2011 in a debate that The New York Times says "has begun to sound like the debate in the United States ". Parliament passed and President Dmitri Medvedev signed several restrictions on abortion into law to combat "a falling birthrate" and " plunging population ". The restrictions include requiring abortion providers to devote 10% of advertising costs to describing

2300-399: Was driving women. Marital rape and the seduction of unmarried women were societal ills which feminists believed caused the need to abort, as men did not respect women's right to abstinence . Anti-abortion groups like Students for Life of America and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America are at times associated with conservatism. Other groups, such as Focus on the Family , are considered

2350-642: Was founded in 1967 as the first state right to life organization. Other early affiliates include Georgia Right to Life . Anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements , also self-styled as pro-life movements , are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality . Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the legalization of elective abortions . In Europe, abortion law varies by country, and has been legalized through parliamentary acts in some countries, and constitutionally banned or heavily restricted in others. In Western Europe this has had

2400-432: Was hired to serve as legal counsel and the NRLC became more involved in elections to further influence state and federal legislation to advance their anti-abortion position. In 1980, the National Right to Life Political Action Committee (NRL PAC) was founded to support anti-abortion candidates, mostly Republicans. Also that year, Bopp led a walkout of conservative delegates from a White House Conference on Families and defended

2450-513: Was linked to his repeated declarations that he wouldn't allow the abortion debate to be re-opened. Since the 1980s, at least forty-three private member bills that are against abortion have been sent to the House of Commons yet none of them have been passed. Canadian anti-abortion discourse increasingly "aims at changing cultural values more than legislation; is explicitly framed as 'pro-woman'; largely avoids appealing to religious grounds; and relies on

2500-672: Was originally derived from the British law. Until 1967, British law stated that "an induced abortion is unlawful in all situations save the (probable) exception of situations where it is necessary to save the life of the mother." Australia partook of this law until Britain changed it in 1967 towards a more liberal standpoint. All states and territories, except Western Australia, have laws prohibiting anti-abortion campaigners from harassing visitors and staff of abortion clinics by setting exclusion zones around abortion clinics. In Evangelical Christianity , international organizations like Focus on

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