“The State has an interest in ensuring so grave a choice is well informed. It is self-evident that a mother who comes to regret her choice to abort must struggle with grief more anguished and sorrow more profound when she learns, only after the event, what she once did not know: that she allowed a doctor to pierce the skull and vacuum the fast-developing brain of her unborn child, a child assuming the human form.”
-- Justice Kennedy in the Majority Opinion
May 1, 2007
Dear Friend,
The Gonzales v. Carhart decision of April 18 is the most significant Supreme Court abortion decision in 15 years -- since the Casey decision in 1992.
In the past week, we celebrated this landmark victory while conducting countless media interviews including Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and both conservative and liberal political publications. In addition, we met for two days to strategically plan next steps in our abortion-related legislation and litigation.
A special thanks to our donors in helping AUL secure this win.
While there are still five justices who support Roe and our opponents have already introduced federal legislation that would in effect codify Roe v. Wade as the law of the land, Gonzales dramatically opens up new doors for us. The decision will allow us to apply all of our work that we've been preparing over the past several years -- in legislation, litigation, and research on the impact of abortion on women.
The decision changes the landscape in several ways:
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Gonzales has restored the guidelines from Casey that are more deferential to state legislation.
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It reinforces the importance of informed consent. Justice Kennedy wrote for the majority:
"The State has an interest in ensuring so grave a choice is well informed. It is self-evident that a mother who comes to regret her choice to abort must struggle with grief more anguished and sorrow more profound when she learns, only after the event, what she once did not know: that she allowed a doctor to pierce the skull and vacuum the fast-developing brain of her unborn child, a child assuming the human form."
This is an unprecedented passage in an opinion by a majority of the Supreme Court justices.
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For the first time in 34 years, the Supreme Court narrowed the unlimited emotional health exception of Doe v. Bolton to a focus on "significant health risks." It opens the door for utilizing all our research on the negative impact of abortion on women.
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It opens the door to more aggressive regulation of abortion.
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It also has implications for bioethics. The Gonzales opinion shows greater Supreme Court humility than in Casey in 1992; the new majority will defer more to state legislatures. There is a considerably diminished possibility that the new Supreme Court majority will create, for example, a new "right to human cloning" or a new "right to destructive embryo research." They will leave these decisions to the states, where AUL's expertise is focused.
We now turn to next cases and next legislation. We're confident that most of the cases in the lower federal courts will now be resolved in favor of the state legislation, and we are planning new model bills for the next legislative sessions to take full advantage of this new opportunity. We expect to be very busy.
To help us address the hurdles ahead, we're sponsoring a conference on the Supreme Court in Washington, DC this summer with other Supreme Court experts in order to strategically plan the next stage of litigation. Because there are still five justices on the Court who favor Roe, the continuing challenge is that abortion legislation cannot create a "substantial obstacle" to abortion "before viability." We are critically evaluating the challenges and planning for the best possible path through the courts.
To take full advantage of these new opportunities, we are looking to hire two additional attorneys as quickly as funding permits. Meanwhile, our limited staff is stretching to take advantage of every opportunity we can.
Thank you again for standing with us and making this progress in defending human life.
Sincerely,
Clarke D. Forsythe, Esq.
President
P.S. In light of Gonzales, we have more opportunities in litigation and legislation than at any time in the past 15-20 years. Do you know of any friend, corporation, or foundation that we can approach to grow our staff and resources in the next six months? If so, please contact our Major Gifts Officer, Ginger Eppinette, at 312-568-4707 or by email to: .
Americans United for Life | 310 S. Peoria St., Suite 500| Chicago, IL 60607
Office: 312-492-7234 | Fax: 312-492-7235 |