How Pro-Life is Your State?

January 22, 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortion in this country. As a result, over 50 million babies have lost their lives to abortion. Even though abortion remains legal, there are states in this country who haven taken action to pass laws and set up strict regulations to protect life from conception to its end.

Since 2006, the pro-life organization, Americans United for Life (AUL) has ranked each state according to their legislative and policy issues concerning abortion, protecting the unborn, end-of-life issues, bioethics and health care.

According to the AUL's Life List Executive Summary, there are five primary laws that are looked at according to each sate. Such laws include:

• Laws relating to abortion (parental consent, clinic regulations, etc.)
• Laws protecting unborn victims of violence
• Laws dealing with biotechnology (cloning, stem-cell research, etc.)
• Laws concerning end-of-life issues
• Laws protecting the freedom of conscience for health care providers, institutions and payers

Louisiana gets a number one rating because of all they have done in recent years to protect the woman from negative consequences of abortion and to protect the unborn baby. The state of Louisiana has declared that "the unborn child is a human being from the time of conception." In Louisiana, assisted suicide is a felony. The state also bans any form of destructive embryo research and cloning of any kind.

Once again this year, Washington is the least "life-friendly" state. Washington does not protect women and does not protect the unborn child from being a victim of violence. Only after the baby moves in the womb and is then killed is it considered a homicide. The state condones destructive embryo research and cloning. In 2008, voters made physician-assisted suicide legal.

“I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born.” – Ronald Reagan

"If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?" - Mother Teresa

“I certainly supported a woman's right to choose, but to my mind the time to choose was before, not after the fact.” - Ann B. Ross

For the second year in a row, Louisiana has been listed as the most pro-life state in the nation. Oklahoma and Pennsylvania remained at number two and three respectively. The state of Arkansas moved up to number four from number five.

Arizona wasn't even in the top ten last year and they are now at number five. Nebraska slipped to number six from being number four in 2012. Indiana moved up from number ten to being number seven this year. Missouri moved from the number 6 spot to number 8 and Georgia made number 9 with Virginia rounding out the top 10. Neither Georgia nor Virginia made the top ten last year.

The three states that fell from the top ten list this year were: Texas, South Dakota and North Dakota.

The top ten pro-life states in 2012 are:

1. Louisiana
2. Oklahoma
3. Pennsylvania
4. Arkansas
5. Arizona
6. Nebraska
7. Indiana
8. Missouri
9. Georgia
10. Virginia

At the bottom of the list are:

46. New Jersey

47. Vermont

48. New York

49. California

50. Washington

To see where you state ranks go to AUL's 2013 Life List

Americans United for Life (AUL) has been committed to defending human life through vigorous judicial, legislative, and educational efforts at both the federal and state levels since it became the first national pro-life organization in 1971. AUL has been involved in every life-related case before the Supreme Court since Roe v. Wade and has a vision for "a nation in which everyone is welcomed in life and protected in law."

Dr. Charmaine Yoest serves as AUL's President and CEO. Dr. Yoest has a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Virginia and began her career in the White House during the Reagan Administration. She served as Senior Advisor to the 2008 Huckabee for President Campaign and was the only pro-life leader chosen to testify during the hearings for U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayer. She is married to her husband, Jack and they have five children.

Senator Tom Coburn has said of AUL, "Long known to me as the ‘legal arm of the pro-life movement,’ they work tirelessly to help legislatures pass the best pro-life laws possible, and then to defend those laws in court against attacks by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.”

Recently, in 2010, AUL launched Advocates for Life - groups of pro-life students in law schools such as Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, George Mason, Notre Dame, Fordham. Boston College, and St. Thomas.

AUL states that, "Roe v. Wade will not be reversed, nor will a human life amendment be passed, until the cultural consciousness is awakened to the reality that abortion is not an easy, quick-fix solution. Rather, abortion is a violent deception that results in two victims: the child whose life is destroyed, and the woman who suffers devastating physical and psychological harm."

Currently, AUL is assisting state legislators in opting-out of providing health insurance plans with abortion coverage through their exchanges. To do this, AUL has developed “The Federal Abortion Mandate Opt-Out Act.” For more information, click here.