American Life League

American Life League, Inc. (ALL) is an American Catholic grassroots pro-life organization. The group opposes abortion under any circumstance and opposes all forms of contraception, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia. Its current president is cofounder Judie Brown and its headquarters is in Stafford, Virginia.

American Life League, Inc.
Location in Stafford County
and the state of Virginia
SuccessorLife Amendment PAC
American Life Lobby
FoundedApril 1, 1979 (1979-04-01)
EIN: 52-1238301
FocusAnti-abortion
Location
Area served
United States
ProductsLiterature
Key people
Judith "Judie" A. Brown,
President
Revenue
$5,022,739 (2012)
Expenses$4,991,338 (2012)
WebsiteAll.org
Part of a series of articles on
Abortion
and the Catholic Church
Official opposition
Philosophy and theology

Activism
Dissidence
See also
  • WikiBook: Catholic Church and abortion
 Catholicism portal

Projects and resources

Projects that American Life League sponsors include:

  • Celebrate Life Magazine[1] is a bi-monthly 32-page magazine on pro-life topics, including abortion, contraception, euthanasia, infertility and cloning.
  • Crusade for the Defense of Our Catholic Church in which ALL seeks to persuade Catholics about its views on abortion, as well as name pro-choice Catholic politicians who knowingly defy Church doctrine and statements by church officials,. 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.[2] The League's slogan in this matter is "You can't be Catholic and pro-abortion."
  • The Pill Kills[3] discourages 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 says that ALL's claims regarding fish are "not supported by science".[4]

History

American Life League was founded on April 1, 1979[5][6] by Judie Brown and nine other pro-life 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,[7] publicity from Heritage Foundation co-founder Paul Weyrich, and membership lists provided by right-wing direct mail specialist Richard Viguerie.[8]

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,[9] and the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case.[2]

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.[10] Snopes states the ALL claims about both Aladdin[11] and The Little Mermaid[12] are false. However, their claim about The Lion King is listed by the site as "legend".[13]

Spending

As of 2012, the non-profit charity evaluator Charity Navigator gives ALL a ranking of 2 out of 4 stars for financial accountability and transparency.[14] 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.[15]

See also

Notes
  1. "Pro-Life Organizations". About.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved April 29, 2007.
  2. "American Life League". People For the American Way. 2006. Archived from the original on October 11, 2006. Retrieved October 17, 2006.
  3. "The Pill Kills". Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  4. Little, Becky (July 31, 2017). "How One Bad Science Headline Can Echo Across the Internet". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019.
  5. "Founded". Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. "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.
  9. American Life League v. ACLU appeal at Findlaw
  10. 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.
  11. "Take Off Your Clothes!". Snopes. August 19, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  12. "The Aroused Minister". Snopes. August 20, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  13. "Sex in The Lion King". Snopes. August 19, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  14. "American Life League". Charity Navigator. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  15. "2007 CEO Compensation Study". Charity Navigator. 2007. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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