Abortion & Protection of the Unborn PDF

 

Today we find ourselves in a promising environment. More pro-life laws are in effect than ever before and there is increasing public recognition of the negative impact of abortion on women. Moreover, in April 2007 the United States Supreme Court (USSC) upheld the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 and opened the door for states to enact more meaningful regulations of abortion. Similarly, the tragic deaths of Laci and Conner Peterson in 2002 dramatically underscored the importance of protecting the unborn from criminal violence.

 

These gains have been realized, in large part, through a systematic and strategic effort in the states to select tactical steps that provide incremental gains today while laying the groundwork for much larger gains in the future. We often think of momentous USSC rulings such as Roe v. Wade as arriving suddenly on the scene. For the general public, these landmark cases sometimes come as a surprise, radically changing our law, social policy, and culture. However, for those working for the change, the landmark case often represents not a sudden break with the past, but the culmination of decades of persistent legal work to build precedent through small incremental victories.

 

Mississippi provides an excellent example of the effectiveness of an incremental, legal strategy to combat the evil of abortion. Over the past 15 years, Mississippi has adopted 15 pro-life laws. As a result, abortions in the state have decreased by nearly 60% and six out of seven abortion clinics have closed -- leaving only one embattled abortion clinic in the entire state.

 

Moreover, in 2004 (and again in 2006) Dr. Michael New of the Harvard-MIT Data Center completed statistical analysis that confirms what we have seen in states such as Mississippi: Incremental, common-sense laws are effective in significantly reducing abortion. Dr. New's analysis reveals the key role that life-affirming state laws played in the 17-19% decline in abortions nationwide during the 1990s.

 

AUL actively advocates the systematic, incremental adoption and implementation of life-affirming laws in the states. In this chapter, we have sought to provide state lawmakers, state attorneys general, public policy groups, lobbyists, the media, and others involved in the cause for life with proven legal strategies and tools that will, step by step and state by state, lead to a more pro-life America and help set the stage of the state-by-state battle that will follow Roe's ultimate reversal.

 

Available resources include detailed articles and topical overviews on a range of important legislative strategies and initiatives, along with AUL's model legislation and examples of other effective measures adopted in the states. These resources are specifically designed to effectively implement an incremental pro-life strategy proven to protect women from the dangers inherent in abortion and to protect unborn victims from increasing levels of criminal violence.