Foundations

Education is on everyone’s mind at the Legislature this session.

Governor Brewer announced that improving education as a key part of her plans for 2012 when she said in her State of the State address that we will see “excellence and accountability in our education system.”

How do we achieve this high standard? The answer is simple – school choice.

Expanding school choice is the single best strategy for improving education for all children. (more…)

For years in Arizona, we’ve seen those who oppose our work at the Legislature turn to the courts to try and stop CAP-supported bills from taking effect.

Getting a bill through the House and Senate and signed by the Governor is not an easy process, but often it’s only half the battle.  When groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) fail at subverting important pro-family or pro-life legislation, they file suit and demand that the courts undermine the work of the people’s representatives.

Take for instance the latest ACLU lawsuit against a CAP-supported bill that disqualifies donations to organizations that provide, promote, pay for, or provide referrals for abortion from being eligible for the working poor tax credit. This credit allows Arizonans to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to a small group of organizations.

The Working Poor Tax Credit was designed to benefit non-profit organizations that provide services to meet the immediate basic needs of our state’s working poor.

I think many people would agree abortion doesn’t fall under this category.

While abortion is still the law of the land due to Roe v Wade, states have the right to prefer promoting life over abortion – this means it is within their right to deny life-destroying organizations the benefit of this tax credit.

The ACLU is representing the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence in this case (as an aside, I’m sure many supporters of AzCADV would be shocked to learn they are fighting for the right to bring Planned Parenthood in for presentations to women at their shelters and to provide abortion referrals to women who are being abused).

The ACLU is arguing that somehow the AzCADV has a First Amendment right to push women to have abortions while remaining eligible for the tax credit.

There are just a few problems with this viewpoint…

• The U.S. Supreme Court has reiterated multiple times that the right to abortion does not encompass a right to force the State to pay for any woman’s abortion.  The right of a physician or of any group to perform, promote, or provide referrals for abortion similarly does not include a right to force the State to support abortion in any way.
• The law does not prohibit any organization that otherwise qualifies for the credit from providing non-directive counseling to a woman about her pregnancy options, including abortion.
• There are thousands of non-profit organizations in Arizona, but less than 500 actually qualify for the Working Poor Tax Credit. No organization has a right to the tax credit.

One of the most tragic results of legalized abortion in our country is the destruction of millions of children based solely on the fact that the child has some sort of disability.  This is most prevalent for children diagnosed with Down syndrome (“DS”), as estimates are that 80%-90% of these children are aborted.

As pro-life advances continue in state legislatures and courts, a life movement of a different kind is having an impact on the abortion industry. New research shows that an increasing number of obstetricians and gynecologists are unwilling to perform abortions.

In the September 2011 issue of the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, a survey of 1,144 practicing OB/GYN’s found that 97 percent of the doctors encountered patients seeking an abortion.  Only 14 percent of those doctors performed the abortion in those circumstances. While the study did not survey the percent of those doctors who provided referrals for abortions, the numbers are still telling – the vast majority of doctors want nothing to do with abortion. (more…)