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American Life League

From Catholicism Wiki
Successor Life Amendment PAC
American Life Lobby
Founded April 1, 1979
Tax ID no. EIN: 52-1238301
Location Stafford, Virginia, U.S.
Region served United States
Products Literature
Key people Judith "Judie" A. Brown,
President
Revenue $5,022,739 (2012)
Expenses $4,991,338 (2012)
Website All.org

American Life League, Inc. (ALL) 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.[1]

Projects and resources

Projects that American Life League has sponsored include:

  • Celebrate Life Magazine[2] is a bi-monthly 32-page magazine on topics including abortion, contraception, euthanasia, infertility and cloning.
  • Marian Blue Wave[3] is a call to Catholics across America to pray a weekly Rosary with the specific intentions of ending all surgical, pill, contraceptive and IVF abortion and shutting down every Planned Parenthood facility in the United States.
  • Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church in which ALL sought to persuade Catholics about its views on abortion, as well as name Catholic politicians who they say knowingly defy Church doctrine and statements by church officials regarding abortion rights. In 2004, ALL published a full-page advertisement in USA Today urging Catholic priests and bishops to deny Communion to Catholic legislators who support abortion rights.[4] The League's slogan in this matter was "You can't be Catholic and pro-abortion."
  • The Pill Kills[5] discouraged people from using contraceptive medication, making claims about its effects on a woman's body as well as the effect that contraceptives have on fish once they enter the water supply. The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals said that ALL's claims regarding fish are "not supported by science".[6]

History

American Life League was founded on April 1, 1979[7][8] by Judie and Paul Brown, Gary Bauer, Focus on the Family’s James Dobson,[9] 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,[10] publicity from The Heritage Foundation co-founder Paul Weyrich, and membership lists provided by right-wing direct mail specialist Richard Viguerie.[9]

Street tactics

In 1994 ALL filed suit to challenge the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. In American Life League v. Reno, ALL lost in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals,[11] and the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case.[4]

Disney boycotts

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 the animated films The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. Disney denied all the claims.[12] Snopes states the ALL claims about both Aladdin[13] and The Little Mermaid[14] are false. Their claim about The Lion King is listed by the site as "legend", indicating that the claim is "essentially unprovable".[15]

Spending

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.[16] As of 2019, the non-profit charity evaluator Charity Navigator awards ALL 2 out of 4 stars, a ranking indicating they believe the charity "needs improvement".[17]

See also

  • Christian Voice (United States)

References

  1. Back to citation "American Life League, Inc. - GuideStar Profile". Guidestar. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  2. Back to citation "Pro-Life Organizations". About.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  3. Back to citation "Michigan Planned Parenthood Closure is Focus of National Prayer". Dexter, MI Patch. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 "American Life League". People For the American Way. 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2006.
  5. Back to citation "The Pill Kills". Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  6. Back to citation Little, Becky (July 31, 2017). "How One Bad Science Headline Can Echo Across the Internet". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019.
  7. Back to citation "Founded". Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. Back to citation http://www.clmagazine.org/article/index/id/MTM1NDE Archived May 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine A saintly influence: Pope John Paul II's impact on American Life League—and me. Judie Brown. Celebrate Life Magazine.
  9. Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 "Right Wing Watch - American Life League". People for the American Way. Wayback Machine. April 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  10. Back to citation Smith, Peter (May 6, 2013). "Catholics Bid Farewell to Pro-Life Lion Howard Phillips". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  11. Back to citation American Life League v. ACLU appeal at Findlaw
  12. Back to citation Smith, Leef (September 1, 1995). "Disney's Loin King? Group Sees Dirt in the Dust". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  13. Back to citation "Take Off Your Clothes!". Snopes. August 19, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  14. Back to citation "The Aroused Minister". Snopes. August 20, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  15. Back to citation "Sex in The Lion King". Snopes. August 19, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  16. Back to citation "2007 CEO Compensation Study". Charity Navigator. 2007.
  17. Back to citation "American Life League". Charity Navigator. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
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