WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of misinformation and actual error in some media reports regarding Americans United for Life model legislation, AUL released a legal primer on the “Pregnant Woman Protection Act,” which is designed to offer pregnant women protection from domestic violence, a growing national problem.
Some reporters have tried to smear the legislation as somehow allowing for third parties to harm abortion providers, an interpretation only possible if one does not read the legislation. In fact, the “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act” applies only to situations in which unlawful force is being applied or imminently threatened against a pregnant woman and/or her unborn child.
Consistent with its pro-life values, AUL condemns violence against abortion providers, and the model legislation would specifically not allow such violence. In fact, as abortion is legal in the United States and a woman must consent to an abortion before it is performed, under no reasonable reading of the “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act” can it be construed as applying to the provision of abortion (which is a legal act and not “unlawful force”) or as justifying or excusing criminal violence against those who perform legal abortions.
AUL Vice President of Legal Affairs Denise Burke noted, “The ‘Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act’ is not an abortion bill and attempts by some abortion proponents to subsume the ‘Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act’ into the ‘abortion debate’ does a grave disservice to battered women.”
The primer reports: “The ‘Pregnant Woman’s Protect Act’ does not contain the word ‘abortion’ anywhere in the text of the model legislation. There is a good reason for this: the bill is not about abortion. As detailed above, the bill is intended to ensure that a pregnant woman is able to protect herself and her unborn child from criminal violence. In doing so, it protects her individual decision to carry her child to term – her choice for life.”
To read the entire primer, click here.
Please visit VCA's related content in our Sanctity of Life section.
