Roe v. Wade has been subject to substantial judicial and scholarly criticism over the past forty-five years, but without an attempt specifically to explore how to overrule it in a majority opinion. This Article attempts to remedy that by drafting a model opinion that could be used to overrule Roe. The predicate for this Article’s […]
Agenda-Motivated Claims that RU-486 is “Safe” and “Easy” Are Dead Wrong
By Jessica Sage
Brenda Vise, a 38-year old pharmaceutical representative, died on September 12, 2001. Holly Patterson, an 18-year old student, died on September 17, 2003. Chanelle Bryant, 22-years old, died on January 14, 2004. Vivian Tran, also 22 years old, died on December 29, 2003. Orianne Shevin, a 34-year old attorney and mother of two, died on June 14, 2005. What do these women have in common? They all took RU-486, the so-called “abortion pill,”… [more]
Tracking the FDA’s Approval of Plan B: 10 Years of Endangering Women’s Health
By Mailee R. Smith
This year marks the tenth “anniversary” of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the “emergency contraceptive,” Plan B. A decade later, Plan B is not only just as unsafe, but now the drug manufacturer is targeting our children. [more]
Extending the President’s Influence: The Importance of Federal Judicial Nominations
By Kellie M. Fiedorek
The President of the United States is in a unique position to profoundly influence the nation’s debates over key social and political issues for decades after he leaves office. [more]
FDA Ordered to Make Plan B Available Over-The-Counter to Minors
By Jessica Sage
When President Obama approved federal funding for embryonic stem cell research he stated, “It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda — and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.” [more]
Beware of “FOCA-By-Stealth”: Radical Abortion-on-Demand Agenda Being Implemented Piecemeal
By Denise M. Burke
Recently, abortion advocates and their allies have begun insisting in the media and in communications with supporters that the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA), while “important,” is not an immediate priority and that concerned Americans have overreacted to a piece of legislation that has not even been introduced in the current Congress. [more]
The Freedom of Choice Act: Endangering the Unborn, Women, and Catholic Health Care
By Denise M. Burke
In April 2007, the public debate over abortion was irrevocably altered. In the landmark Gonzales v. Carhart decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion and, more importantly, abdicated, at least in part, its role as the national arbiter of abortion policy. [more]
The Kemp-Kasten Provision and UNFPA Funding
By Daniel Briggs
The Kemp-Kasten provision of 1985 allows the President to withhold funds from any organization that “supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.” [more]
History of the Freedom of Choice Act
By Osayi Osar-Empokae
Abortion has been one of the most controversial and important issues of the last few generations. Even before Roe v. Wade was decided in January 1973, there was proposed federal legislation to legalize abortion in the United States . [more]
Exploiting Children and Undermining Parental Rights: U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child
By Rebecca Mastee
Consider Elizabeth, a twelve year old girl living in Pennsylvania, a state which has enacted a number of common-sense and protective regulations on abortion. With parental consent and other requirements within her state, one would believe that Elizabeth is protected from the dangers inherent in abortion. [more]
Montana: Paving the Road to “Dignity” with Death
By Mailee R. Smith
In a breath-taking example of legislating by court order, a Montana district judge has set Montana on the fast track to killing its own citizens. In her December 2008 order, Judge Dorothy McCarter ruled that persons in Montana have a right to die, and a right to assistance in dying. [more]
The Mexico City Policy
By Daniel Briggs
At the 1984 U.N. International Conference on Population in Mexico City , President Reagan announced the Mexico City Policy (the “Policy”). It provides that for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to be eligible to receive federal funding, they must agree not to perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations. [more]
Repealing HHS Conscience Protections
By Daniel Briggs
The Hippocratic Oath has changed since its creation in response to the pervasive influence of postmodernism and correlative moral relativism. But while the oath may have changed, the consciences of many doctors and other medical professionals have not. [more]
Reflections on the 36th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade: There Is Hope for the Pro-Life Movement
By J. Margaret Datiles
On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that condemned millions of unborn children and their mothers and ensured that the public debate over abortion would continue and coarsen. [more]
2008 State Ballot Initiatives: Pro-Life Losses Demonstrate the Importance of Incremental Legislation
By J. Margaret Datiles
On November 4, 2008, the pro-life movement suffered losses on five state ballot initiatives. Yet there is much we can learn from the three pro-life ballot initiatives defeated (in California, Colorado, and South Dakota) and the two anti-life ballot initiatives passed (in Michigan and Washington). [more]
Healthcare Rights of Conscience: A Hotbed of Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Action in 2008
By Mailee R. Smith
Most state legislative sessions have ended for 2008, and the results in the area of rights of conscience are fairly depressing. A disturbing 60 percent of all conscience-related bills considered this year were compulsion bills. [more]
Pro-Abortion Groups Readily Admit FOCA’s Draconian Impact
By Rebecca Mastee
For years, while promoting the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), pro-abortion groups have publicly claimed that the law would merely codify Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton, two United States Supreme Court Cases that legalized abortion. [more]
New HHS Rules Provide Much-Needed Reprieve for Freedom of Conscience
By Denise Burke
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)implemented long-overdue rules designed to ensure that recipients of federal funds comply with federal law. The new rules even go so far as to require that the constitutional rights of all Americans be respected and protected.
Review and Analysis of the 2008 State Legislative Sessions
By Denise Burke
As we prepare for the fall elections and the run-up to the 2009 state legislative sessions, it is critical that we learn the lessons of 2008. This report analyzes the successes, defeats, and important legislative trends related to abortion, protection of unborn victims of violence, contraception, healthcare rights of conscience, biotechnologies, and the end-of-life. [more]
Review of the 110th Congress: Pro-Life Advances and Attacks, and Where We’re Going from Here
By J. Margaret Datiles
During the 110th Congress, at least 97 bills and resolutions were considered in the areas of abortion, contraception, stem-cell research and cloning, artificial reproductive technologies, genetic counseling, healthcare rights of conscience, and the end-of-life. [more]
The Truth Behind Abortion Health Claims
By Clarke D. Forsythe and Dr. Donna Harrison
Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade, women still do not know all of its health risks. [more]
A Huge Change
By J. Margaret Datiles
A chart contrasting abortion law before Gonzales with abortion law under Gonzales [more]
A Lack of Prudence
By Clarke D. Forsythe
In June 2007, certain anti-abortion activists bought full-page newspaper ads featuring an “open letter” criticizing James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, for his “approval” of the Supreme Court’s April 18 decision in Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld the constitutionality of the federal Partial- Birth Abortion Ban Act (PBABA) of 2003. The crux of the criticism seems to be that the Gonzales decision was “brutally wicked,” because the Court didn’t prohibit all abortions (or at least D&E abortions). [more]
The Battlefield Broadens The Mexican Roe v. Wade
By Mailee R. Smith
In the last several years, the “usual suspects” in the pro-abortion movement have been infesting other nations with their pro-choice rhetoric. One need only peruse the first page of the Center for Reproductive Rights’ website to see headlines such as “Center for Reproductive Rights Denounces Chilean Constitutional Tribunal’s Decision to Ban Distribution of ‘Morning-After Pill’ in Public Facilities” and “Filipino Women and Men Sue Manila Mayor for Ban on Contraception.” It is clear that the battle lines are now being drawn in countries far from our U.S. Supreme Court’s jurisdiction. Thus, it is becoming all the more important for the pro-life movement to shift to a more global focus, and support our pro-life brothers and sisters in other nations as they wage a war which has been litigated in this country for 35 years. We have much to offer from our wins and our losses. [more]
