JEFFERSON CITY, MO (05-02-12) – The Missouri House of Representatives passed a resolution on Wednesday honoring Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest for her “key leadership across the nation in helping to enact life-saving laws at both the beginning and the end of life.”

The Missouri House approved the resolution for Dr. Yoest, sponsored by House Speaker Steven Tilley, Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, and Majority Floor Leader Timothy Jones, while AUL’s President and CEO was visiting the state to testify on behalf of House Bill 1933, a measure that would ban abortions for sex selection and genetic abnormalities.

The mother of five testified about the discrimination facing girls and the handicapped through abortion. “Thanks to the leadership in Missouri, this bill offers girls real protections under the law,” she told lawmakers. “There is a real war on women in abortion clinics today where young girls around the world are destroyed by virtue of their sex in much greater numbers, and Missouri is working to stand in the gap for all our women, born and unborn.” For more on the testimony, click here.

The resolution honoring Dr. Yoest observed: “For years here in Missouri, Americans United for Life has provided historic value to the state by producing constitutionally-sound model legislation and expert advice on bills pending before this body …Through Dr. Charmaine Yoest, the work of Americans United for Life has benefitted Missouri time after time with legislative language and support that our state has needed to further expand our body of life-saving laws.” To read the entire resolution, click here.

AUL Vice President of External Affairs Jeanneane Maxon applauded the gesture of the Missouri House for acknowledging the key role that Dr. Yoest is playing in the current efforts to protect women and girls from the abortion industry and in efforts to prevent mandatory taxpayer funding of abortion.

“Dr. Yoest is a visionary, looking at efforts to defend life in creative and innovative ways,” said Maxon. “She has made it a priority to prepare AUL to be a strong partner with the states in their efforts to ensure that everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law. AUL’s guidebook of model legislation Defending Life has reached the 50 states with laws that protect life.”

For more on Defending Life, click here.