The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the nation’s largest pro-life group, today condemned the killing of Dr. George Tiller.  The following statement may be attributed to NRLC Executive Director, David N. O’Steen, Ph.D.:

National Right to Life extends its sympathies to Dr. Tiller’s family over this loss of life.

Further, the National Right to Life Committee unequivocally condemns any such acts of violence regardless of motivation.  The pro-life movement works to protect the right to life and increase respect for human life.  The unlawful use of violence is directly contrary to that goal.

The National Right to Life Committee has always been involved in peaceful, legal activities to protect human lives threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia.  We always have and will continue to oppose any form of violence to fight the violence of abortion.  NRLC has had a policy of forbidding violence or illegal activity by its staff, directors, officers, affiliated state organizations and chapters.  NRLC’s sole purpose is to protect innocent human life.

NRLC will continue to work through educational and legislative activities to ensure the right to life for unborn children, people with disabilities and older people.  NRLC will continue to work for peaceful solutions to aid pregnant women and their unborn children. These solutions involve helping women and their children and do not involve violence against anyone. 

In an overwhelming 40-5 vote (and 3 not voting), the Nebraska legislature today passed one of the nation’s strongest bills requiring that an abortionist display a real-time ultrasound of a mother’s unborn child prior to performing an abortion.  Governor Dave Heineman has pledged to sign the bill into law.

“Ultrasound technology has made tremendous advancements and provides a window to the womb that allows mothers to see their unborn children in real time,” said Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., National Right to Life State Legislative Director.  ”It is absolutely vital that a woman, at this most crucial life-and-death juncture be provided, all the information possible about the abortion procedure and the development of her unborn child.  Simply put, the abortion decision cannot be undone.  Women deserve all the facts.”

What makes the Nebraska legislation stronger than that of other states is the requirement that the abortionist display the ultrasound image thus enabling the mother to easily look at the screen, if she so chooses, rather than having to request that the image be displayed. 

The legislation is based on model legislation drafted by National Right to Life’s State Legislation Department.  Both National Right to Life State Legislation Director Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D. and Nebraska Right to Life Executive Director Julie Schmit-Albin worked closely with senators throughout the spring legislative session to ensure that the final bill would provide valuable information to women about the development of their unborn children.

 ”Our thanks go to Sen. Tony Fulton (R-Lincoln) for his efforts in shepherding this bill through the Nebraska legislature,” Balch added.  ”His hard work and dedication to mothers and their unborn children, as well as the tremendous efforts and leadership of Nebraska Right to Life, are to be commended.” 

“We will continue to work and urge other states to pass similar legislation that seeks to protect mothers and their unborn children,” Balch stated.

WASHINGTON – The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right to-life organizations in all 50 states, issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that is being vacated by the impending retirement of Justice David Souter.  This statement may be attributed to NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.

What we have seen of Judge Sotomayor’s record so far sheds little light on her views regarding how the Constitution bears on the powers of elected lawmakers to protect the right to life of unborn children.

Members of the Senate should not be pressured to act on this nomination with undue haste.  We believe it is critical that senators thoroughly explore whether Judge Sotomayor believes that Supreme Court justices have the right to override the decisions of elected lawmakers on such issues as partial-birth abortion, tax funding of abortion, and parental notification for abortion.

Moreover, in the years ahead debates will intensify on other public policy issues bearing on the right to life –for example, the status of humans who are created by human cloning, or the permissibility of abortion as a method of preventing the birth of a child of an undesired sex.  Does Judge Sotomayor believe that Supreme Court justices have the right to declare that the Constitution empowers them to impose their own opinions on all such matters, or is she willing to allow the decisions of elected lawmakers to stand except where they violate a clear and explicit prohibition in the actual Constitution?

There are currently four justices on the U.S. Supreme Court who apparently believe that their strong pro-abortion opinions should override the judgments of elected lawmakers, despite the complete lack of support for their position in the text and history of the Constitution.  In its most recent ruling dealing with abortion and the rights of unborn children, Gonzales v. Carhart, on April 18, 2007, a five-justice majority upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.  On that occasion, four justices dissented – including Justice David Souter – and argued for a constitutional doctrine that would have invalidated the ban on partial-birth abortions and also, by implication, condemned virtually any other law or government policy intended to discourage abortion.   If the dissenters’ position became the position of the majority of the Supreme Court, various types of laws that have been deemed permissible under Roe v. Wade could be invalidated by judicial decree, perhaps including the Hyde Amendment (restricting government funding of abortion) and parental notification laws.

It is, then, very appropriate for senators to press for Judge Sotomayor’s views on the analysis adopted by the dissenters in Gonzales, an analysis that could bar virtually all limitations on abortion.

Pro-life concerns are reinforced by the knowledge that Judge Sotomayor has been nominated to the Supreme Court by a president who himself criticized the Supreme Court majority for upholding the ban on partial-birth abortion, who previously had opposed a bill to recognize all babies born alive during abortions as fully protected by law, and who endorsed a proposed federal law (the “Freedom of Choice Act”) that has as its major purpose the invalidation of virtually all of the types of abortion regulations that have been upheld by the Supreme Court as consistent with Roe v. Wade.

Yesterday, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed a bill that would ban sex-selection abortions.The following statement may was made by the National Right to Life Director of State Legislation Mary Spaulding Balch, J.D., in response:

We applaud the efforts of our Oklahoma affiliate, Oklahomans for Life, in shepherding these two pieces of legislation to the Governor’s desk.  Through the guidance and leadership provided by Oklahomans for Life, pro-lifers have enacted a series of legislation in the past two legislative sessions which protect mothers and their unborn children from the abortion industry, which is often highly unregulated.

It is unfortunate, even in this enlightened age of women, that many cultures here and abroad favor males over females. All over the world, millions of females are missing due to sex selection abortions. We congratulate Oklahoma for taking this courageous stand against this invidious discrimination against women by banning the practice of sex selection abortions in Oklahoma.

The comprehensive reporting law passed by the Oklahoma legislature and signed into law by the governor is the most comprehensive reporting law in the nation. Hopefully the information gleaned from this reported information will help us determine some of the reasons women think they need to kill their babies so that we might address those needs and save lives.