WASHINGTON — National Right to Life is relieved by today’s Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruling in the case of Beatriz v. El Salvador. While some media outlets have sought to frame this decision as a rebuke of El Salvador’s pro-life laws, the Court notably did not address the question of abortion. Instead, it focused on other aspects of healthcare access and governmental procedures in the country.

Raimundo Rojas, CSO Representative to the Organization of American States for National Right to Life, emphasized the significance of the Court’s restraint:

Despite the clamor of abortion advocates, the Court wisely chose not to wade into the political waters of abortion. This is a crucial reminder that the fundamental right to life remains a core value across much of Latin America. El Salvador’s commitment to protecting both mother and child remains intact.

The case revolved around Beatriz, a young woman with a high-risk pregnancy in 2013. Abortion advocates seized on her situation to push for changes to El Salvador’s pro-life laws. However, Beatriz ultimately received the medical care she needed, including an early delivery via C-section. The case was later brought to the IACHR, alleging violations of her human rights related to access to health care.

The Court’s most critical finding centered on deficiencies in El Salvador’s health care system, particularly in its ability to provide timely and comprehensive care in complex medical situations. Notably, the ruling did not question or challenge El Salvador’s protective pro-life laws, affirming that these laws remain within the nation’s purview.

“This ruling underscores the importance of strengthening health care systems to ensure that every mother receives the support and care she needs, without resorting to the violence of abortion,” said Rojas. “We stand with the people of El Salvador as they continue to champion a culture of life.”

National Right to Life reiterates its commitment to protecting life at all stages and supporting nations that uphold these values. As this case demonstrates, the solution to healthcare challenges lies in improving medical care—not undermining the right to life of the most vulnerable among us. 

For further information, please contact the NRLC Communications Office at mediarelations@nrlc.org. 

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the 2023 decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Debora K. Grasham that blocked the enforcement of Idaho’s abortion trafficking law. 

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life:

We are pleased with the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that Idaho’s law protecting minor daughters can be largely enforced. Idaho’s law protects minors from those who would circumvent parental rights by transporting a minor girl within the state to obtain an abortion. This law protects both the unborn child and her mother. 

Idaho’s law is based on National Right to Life’s model law. National Right to Life congratulates its Idaho affiliate, Right to Life of Idaho, for its work and efforts in seeing the law passed and upheld.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its annual “Abortion Surveillance Report” for the year 2022. The numbers show a decrease in abortions from the 2021 survey.

Relying on reports from health departments across the country, the CDC reported 613,383 abortions for 2022 compared to 625,978 abortions for 2021. While the CDC’s “Abortion Surveillance Report” is an indication of abortion trends, this figure does not provide a complete picture of abortion in the United States. California (the nation’s most populous state), Maryland, New Hampshire, and New Jersey did not report abortion data to the CDC.

For context, it is important to remember that the 2022 report spans the pre-Dobbs and post-Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2022 that reversed Roe v. Wade.

“With this report, the pro-life movement is encouraged to see the impact of pro-life legislation in states that passed laws to protect unborn children and their mothers from the tragedy of abortion,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Sadly, in states where legislatures and governors have pushed for unlimited abortion, abortion numbers rose. Nevertheless, we are optimistic to see that overall, there appear to have been fewer abortions performed in the U.S. because of these new laws.”

Tobias continued, “The pro-life movement recognizes that there is still much work to be done to protect innocent unborn babies and their mothers.”

In 2022, in the reporting areas included in the report, the CDC found an abortion rate of 11.2 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years, which is a decrease from 2021. The CDC found a ratio of 199 abortions per 1,000 live births, which is a decrease from 2021. 

“Unfortunately, the CDC report does not paint an accurate picture of abortion in the United States because of incomplete data,” continued Tobias. “It is imperative that Congress move to create a federal reporting requirement, so the CDC has better data on the impact of abortion.”

Tragically, based on Wednesday’s report, the percentage of chemical abortions performed rose to 57.6%. 

“The CDC report shows that the use of the chemical abortion method continues to rise,” said Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., director of Education and Research for National Right to Life. “Women are not being told the truth about these painful and dangerous abortifacients and until they are, the numbers will continue to grow. The FDA’s relaxation of safety standards of the drugs and the media’s and abortion industry’s incessant sales campaign have helped to increase sales of the drug combination.” 

Dr. O’Bannon continued, “Promoters of these pills claim high safety and satisfaction rates, but neglect to mention how painful and bloody these abortions are, and how often women taking these pills end up in emergency rooms hemorrhaging, dealing with infections, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies. Unscreened women getting these pills in the mail may not be near help when they need it. More women, more babies will surely die.”

Sadly, the CDC also reported five deaths from legal abortion in 2021, the latest year numbers are available.

The full report from the CDC can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON—National Right to Life Committee, the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, congratulates newly-elected incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and the incoming Senate Republican leadership.

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life:

We congratulate the incoming pro-life leadership of the newly elected Senate majority. From Senator John Thune as Majority Leader to Senator John Barrasso as Majority Whip, National Right to Life looks forward to working with the incoming Senate leadership to enact policy initiatives that will protect the lives of unborn children and provide resources for moms and young parents.

The incoming Senate leadership includes pro-life leaders:

• Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Majority Leader
• Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip
• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate GOP Conference
• Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Senate GOP Policy Committee
• Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), vice chairman of the Senate GOP Policy Committee
• Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) 

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — National Right to Life, the federation of 50 state affiliates, praised the pro-life wins in several state referendums.

“Voters in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota saw through the money and lies of abortion industry-backed efforts to radically change their state constitutions,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life (NRLC). “Leaders such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Nebraska U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts boldly led the fight for life and never backed down. We thank our state affiliates Florida Right to Life, Nebraska Right to Life, South Dakota Right to Life, and our other affiliates fighting these measures, for their heroic efforts.”

Voters in West Virginia adopted Amendment 1 to ensure its citizens are not targeted through physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Tobias continued, “Amendment 1, a first-of-its-kind measure, protects vulnerable West Virginia citizens from physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, and other dangerous processes. We thank our affiliate, West Virginians for Life, for leading the charge to bring about this life-saving measure.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON—In a victory for life, Florida’s Amendment 4 has failed.

“By rejecting Amendment 4, Floridians saw through the lies and deceptions of the abortion industry-backed effort to legalize late-term abortion, remove parental consent and open the door to force taxpayer-funded abortions,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deserves special recognition for taking the abortion industry head on and setting a new standard for what it means to be a Pro-Life Champion as a state’s chief executive.”

National Right to Life Victory Fund is proud to have engaged in this contest at a historic level by making 4,481,988 voter contacts through streaming services, peer-to-peer texting, voice calls, door-to-door conversations and other online formats. All this comes in addition to the grassroot activities spearheaded by Florida Right to Life and other coalitions that united to defeat the radical Amendment 4.

“The pro-abortion lobby out spent the pro-life organizations more than 2-1 and still, in spite of the barrage of false claims about Florida’s heartbeat bill, they were defeated,” stated Lynda Bell, president of Florida Right to Life and co-founder of Do No Harm Florida. “We were grossly outspent, worked countless hours, drove across the state of Florida speaking out against this vile amendment and our grassroots team was second to none.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON—During the vice-presidential debate tonight, Governor Tim Walz was asked by the moderators if he supported abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy.

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life:

Tim Walz refused to answer a simple question about whether he supported abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy and instead engaged in fearmongering and propaganda. His full-throated support of unlimited abortion throughout pregnancy may have been something he didn’t want to admit to during the debate, but his record is clear. Tim Walz supports abortion anywhere, under any circumstances, and at any time throughout pregnancy. His radical, extreme position on abortion is out of touch with the majority of Americans.

If pro-abortion extremists Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were elected, they would put preborn babies in the crosshairs and future generations of Americans would be endangered.

Tim Walz opposes the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. The bill would ensure that an infant who survives an attempted abortion is afforded the same degree of medical care as any other newborn of the same gestational age. As governor, Walz repealed similar state-level protections for newborn babies in Minnesota.

Tim Walz supports a policy allowing unlimited abortion for any reason throughout pregnancy. He signed legislation to enshrine a “fundamental right” to abortion for any reason until birth in Minnesota law and invalidated existing protections like the state’s parental involvement law.

As governor, Walz repealed Minnesota’s Positive Alternatives Act which offered funding for programs that provided adoption services, housing assistance, counseling, childcare, parenting education, medical attention for mothers and babies in need, and more.

Tim Walz memorably described his own extreme record as “so pro-choice Nancy Pelosi asked me if I should tone it down.”

Tim Walz’s record on life can here.

Kamala Harris’s record on life can be found here.

Checking the Fact-checkers: “After-Birth” Abortions or Modern Infanticide: Abandoning Babies to Die can be found here.

The Democratic Party’s extensive support of unlimited abortion can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON— On Tuesday, National Right to Life (NRLC) released a special report, Checking the Fact-Checkers: “After-Birth” Abortions, about babies born alive following abortions. The document was released at a congressional briefing on the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.”

The document comes at a crucial time when pro-abortion groups have promoted false narratives about babies who are born alive during abortions. Additionally, vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is under scrutiny and criticism for his actions in reversing state protections for babies born alive following abortions.

“The abortion industry and its sympathizers want to make this about abortion. It’s not. It’s about infanticide,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “It is barbaric that newborns who have the temerity to survive an abortion are considered the ‘dreaded complication’ by abortionists.”

Tobias continued, “The baby who survives an abortion deserves the full protection of the law.”

The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” would require that when a baby is born alive following an abortion, health care practitioners must exercise the same degree of professional skill and care that would be offered to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. It also requires that, following appropriate care, health care workers must transport the child immediately to a hospital.

Speakers at the congressional briefing included Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, Sarah Zagorski, director of communications for Louisiana Right to Life and a survivor of abortion, Cathy Blaeser, executive director, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, and Melissa Ohden, founder of The Abortion Survivors Network and a survivor of abortion.

Checking the Fact-checkers: “After-Birth” Abortions or Modern Infanticide: Abandoning Babies to Die can be found here.

The record of Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota can be found here.

The record of Vice President Kamala Harris can be found here.

The materials distributed at the briefing can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — On Friday, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) filed a friend of the court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, supporting Idaho’s efforts to uphold its Defense of Life Act. Idaho’s protective pro-life law ensures that women and their unborn children are not placed at risk by abortion. The Defense of Life Act includes exceptions for cases where the mother’s life is at risk or in instances of sexual assault.

The Biden administration is attempting to misuse the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) to advance a pro-abortion agenda. This federal law, originally created to safeguard access to emergency care, is now being used as a tool to force hospitals nationwide to perform abortions.

“This federal overreach not only undermines state sovereignty but also dismisses the will of the people in these states,” said James Bopp, Jr., general counsel for NRLC and lead counsel on NRLC’s brief. “It’s a troubling example of how Washington bureaucrats are willing to ignore local voters to push a one-size-fits-all abortion agenda. The citizens in pro-life states have made their choice at the ballot box, and it’s not the federal government’s place to nullify those decisions.”

In August 2022, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Idaho. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which, in June, decided not to make a final ruling. Instead, the Court remanded the case back to the Ninth Circuit for further examination. The Ninth Circuit is now scheduled to hear arguments on this pivotal case in December.

“The Biden-Harris administration has made pushing unlimited abortion on the American people a top priority,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Efforts to twist the compassionate EMTALA law is another way forward in their radical agenda of unlimited abortion.”

NRLC’s brief argues that EMTALA was designed to establish a baseline for emergency treatment and prevent patient dumping, not to create a national medical standard of care. The brief emphasizes that EMTALA does not require hospitals to provide medical care contrary to state law, especially in ethically complex areas like abortion.

NRLC’s amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit is available here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON—Delaware Governor John Carney today vetoed Delaware’s HB 140 which would have legalized assisted suicide.

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

We praise Governor Carney for vetoing Delaware’s assisted suicide bill. HB 140 was a dangerous bill that would have put vulnerable patients at risk for assisted suicide.

We praise the work of Delaware advocates who have faithfully worked to ensure that their vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors remain protected in the state of Delaware.

In a statement announcing the veto, Governor Carney stated,

I still don’t believe a firm consensus has been reached on what is a very difficult issue- in Delaware or nationally. Last year, the American Medical Association reaffirmed its view that physician-assisted suicide is “fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer.” And although I understand not everyone shares my views, I am fundamentally and morally opposed to state law enabling someone, even under tragic and painful circumstances, to take their own life.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

Kamala Harris Fails to Put the Blame Where It Belongs

WASHINGTON—While on the campaign trail in Georgia on Friday, Kamala Harris gruesomely exploited the tragic deaths of two women for political purposes. Harris falsely claimed that the deaths of two women in Georgia from chemical abortions were the fault of Georgia’s protective laws.

She is wrong.

Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000, mifepristone is used in combination with misoprostol, a prostaglandin, to cause an abortion. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, leading to the death of the unborn baby, while the second drug, misoprostol, causes powerful, painful uterine contractions to expel the dead or dying baby.

When the FDA gave initial approval for the abortion drug, safeguards for women were established. An exam was conducted before the pills were given in order to diagnose serious health issues, including an ectopic pregnancy, which can be fatal. Another visit was required after taking the pills to ensure the abortion was complete, including the expulsion of fetal remains. If the Biden-Harris administration had not lifted those safety requirements, Ms. Thurman and Ms. Miller would likely be alive today.

In addition, the Biden-Harris administration showed complete disregard for safety protocols for women by allowing pharmacists to dispense abortion drugs, even allowing them to be sent by mail.

Tim Walz supported these changes. He signed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the abortion drug mifepristone.

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

Amber Thurman and Candi Miller did not die because a law denied treatment.

Amber Thurman’s babies died from a successful, legal, abortion. Amber died from known complications of the FDA-approved chemical abortion pill combination, followed by medical incompetence.  

Candi Miller also took the abortion pills, but the abortion was incomplete and the remains of her dead baby were not expelled from her uterus. As her health deteriorated, Candi sadly did not seek medical treatment and died.

A factsheet about the safety and efficacy of mifepristone can be found here.

Kamala Harris’s record on life can be found here.

Tim Walz’s record on life can here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) spoke on the Senate floor about babies born alive following a failed abortion and the need for the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.”

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

We thank Senator Lankford for championing the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” and working to protect babies born alive following an abortion.

The evidence is shocking. A baby born alive following an abortion is considered a “complication” by abortionists, but she is a living baby deserving the full protection of the law.

This bill is not about abortion but pro-abortion groups and their allies in the Senate have tried to make it about abortion. Purposely abandoning a child to die after birth is infanticide.

The “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” requires that when a baby is born alive following an abortion, health care practitioners must exercise the same degree of professional skill and care that would be offered to any other child born alive at the same gestational age. It also requires that, following appropriate care, health care workers must transport the child immediately to a hospital.

As a senator, Vice President, and now-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris voted against the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.”

As governor, Democratic candidate for vice president, Tim Walz, signed legislation repealing a requirement to provide medically appropriate lifesaving care to born-alive infants. Under Walz’s legislation, viable babies could be set aside, with only comfort care, and left to die.

Kamala Harris’s record on life can be found here.

Tim Walz’s record on life can here.

The Democratic Party’s extensive support of unlimited abortion can be found here.

Evidence for abortions until birth can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON—Tonight, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris clashed on abortion in the first half-hour during their presidential debate.

Kamala Harris said she would have Congress bring back Roe v. Wade. The bill she’s referring to would allow abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason.

“Harris’s entire career has had one consistency—abortion. She has ‘joyfully’ supported the destruction of innocent preborn babies and, if elected, would make it a cornerstone issue of her administration,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

Kamala Harris has made a career of supporting unlimited abortion. She is the first member of the executive branch to ever visit an abortion clinic and supports the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” (WHPA). The WHPA is a bill that would enshrine unlimited abortion until birth in federal law. The bill would do away with virtually all existing protections for unborn children and their mothers on both the federal and state levels, including parental involvement laws.

As a senator, Harris voted against the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” which would ensure that an infant born alive during an attempted abortion is afforded the same degree of medical care as any other newborn of the same gestational age.

In addition, under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended safeguards for women undergoing chemical abortions, such as seeing the abortionist in person. The in-person requirement helped to prevent complications resulting from ectopic pregnancies which can be fatal. Ectopic pregnancies can only be diagnosed with an in-person evaluation. The FDA also now permits pharmacists to dispense abortion drugs, and it even allows abortion drugs to be sent by mail.

Tobias continued, “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will push for the most radical abortion policies possible because the goal of the Democratic Party is no longer ‘safe, legal, and rare.’ Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and the Democratic Party want unlimited abortion at any cost—including the lives of precious preborn babies and the harm that could happen to their mothers.”

Kamala Harris’s record on life can be found here.

Tim Walz’s record on life can here.

The Democratic Party’s extensive support of unlimited abortion can be found here.

Evidence for abortions until birth can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.