Week in Review
ALL Receives Massive Reaction to Charity Watchlist
Last week, American Life League’s Charity Watchlist launched online. The list details how various popular charities spend their money, giving them a rating of either green, yellow, or red. Red means they spend money on things like abortion research, contraception, transgender surgeries, or on promoting the LGBTQ lifestyle. Yellow means caution, and green means the charity is safe to donate to.
Since American Life League’s research team has made the list public, we have been inundated with requests for other charities. The requests so far include:
- Shriners Children’s Hospital
- Mercy Ships (2 inquiries about this one)
- Catholic Charities
- Covenant House
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul
- Life Outreach International
- Christian Appalachian Project
- Salesian Missions
- Catholic Medical Mission Board
- Feeding America (completed, not yet on website)
- Compassion International
Additionally, we have taken numerous phone calls and emails from people shocked and upset to find out that the charities they have supported for years are on the red list.
Two examples are St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Child Fund International.
One caller expressed his deep upset at finding St. Jude on the red list, as he and his wife have been regular donors for years. A woman emailed expressing her concern at finding Child Fund International on the list. She even contacted CFI to confirm our research, and this is what they told her:
I just called to withdraw my support from CFI. Of course they asked why I was doing that, and I said that I had become aware that they are promoting activities (and specifically what these were) that do not align with my Catholic values. I also said that these things were morally wrong and that the organization should not be promoting them to people who were in vulnerable circumstances. She said that their organization feels it is “important to let the people they help know all of their options.” I’m so disgusted at the amount of money I have given them over the years and the fact that they simply lied to me when I called and asked about these same issues in the past.
These are just two examples of a few hundred messages we have received in the last week. The support and gratitude for the list has been overwhelming, and for that we thank you!
If you have not yet seen the updated Charity Watchlist, please visit our site.
Planned Parenthood Admits Preborn Babies as Young as 5-6 Weeks Have a Heartbeat
CBN recently reported a shocking update on Planned Parenthood’s website.
On a page describing what happens during weeks five to six of pregnancy, the abortion giant states that the baby develops “a very basic beating heart and circulatory system.” Perhaps PP thinks that because it labels the heartbeat as “very basic” it can still get away with murdering babies.
As CBN states in the article, PP previously aligned itself with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, whose “Guide to Language and Abortion said that a fetal heartbeat exists only after the chambers of the heart have developed and can be detected via ultrasound, which typically occurs around 17 to 20 weeks’ gestation.”
But PP has since distanced itself from ACOG’s claim writing in a recent footnote in a South Carolina court filing that “after consulting with experts,” the group “understand(s) that a heart forms earlier than that.”
ALL in the News
ALL’s Charity Watchlist is gaining attention as people plan their end-of-year giving. The Daily Signal and American Family News recently interviewed Hugh Brown about the list.
Additionally, Matt Abbott wrote about the Charity Watchlist for Renew America.
Susan Ciancio, editor of ALL’s Celebrate Life Magazine and director and executive editor of the Culture of Life Studies Program, writes a weekly commentary on timely pro-life topics for the magazine and for CLSP. This week she wrote an op-ed discussing joining Pope Francis in prayer for those with disabilities. The op-ed appeared as an exclusive on Catholic World Report. For CLSP, she wrote about giving generously, as St. Nicholas did.
Twice a week, Judie’s commentaries are distributed to an expansive media list. The list contains over 100 media outlets such as Fox News, The Federalist, Breitbart, and The Daily Caller, among others. Judie’s commentaries are each featured on the front page of ALL.org.
Pro-Life Education
Culture of Life Studies Program
From now through Christmas, all of CLSP’s Christmas lessons are on sale. We offer three beautiful lessons to help your children focus on what’s truly important this Christmas.
Giving with a Happy Heart: Teaching the Culture of Life in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a high school lesson that examines Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol under a pro-life lens to find themes that support the culture of life and reinforce the principle that all human beings are sacred, unrepeatable, and deserving of respect.
Christ, the True Gift of Christmas is a pre-K-2nd grade lesson that teaches children the story of the first Christmas through the eyes of Santa Claus/St. Nicholas, reinforces the pro-life message, and reminds children that Christmas is about God’s greatest gift to us—His Son.
The Christmas Star is also a pre-K-2nd grade lesson that teaches students about the importance of offering our lives in Jesus’ service. Students will learn about the dignity of each person and how Jesus calls us to love one another as He loves us. SHOP NOW!
ALL’s Education Materials
Should pro-life principle be compromised to make advances in pro-life legislation? Our digital download, Exceptions: Abandoning ‘The Least of These My Brethren’ provides a clear answer. Judie Brown and Brian Young tackle a dangerous distinction between principle and pragmatism in the pro-life movement, a distinction that leads to erroneous exceptions, loopholes, and traps. Compromising pro-life principle for pro-life legislation is a lose-lose game for both morality and the common good. SHOP NOW!
Pro-Life Social Media
Chevrolet Commercial Reminds Us ‘The Love Is Always There’
Beer companies and retailers continue to spiral into financial ruin for their transgender foolishness. But once in a while a corporation wises up and takes a life-affirming approach to advertising. General Motors, no stranger to homosexual pandering, lends its Chevrolet brand to tell a fictional, life-affirming story so heartwarming you’ll be sniffling and rubbing your watery eyes. It’s the rare commercial that deserves attention at a time when so many advertisers think depictions of “modern families” are the way to please shareholders.
