(Fredericksburg, Virginia) In a season of giving,
American Life League urges caution for life advocates selecting recipients for
their charitable donations. The national organization known for its “no
exceptions” policy on abortion wants charitable givers to know exactly what
they are supporting with their dollars. American Life League’s Charity Watchlist is an online tool using a simple
stoplight green-yellow-red color coding to allow donors to know if they “go
ahead” and donate to a nonprofit without reservations, “proceed with caution”
after being fully informed of the potential risks, or “stop” any support of an
organization that endorses abortion.
“The Charity Watchlist is a project designed to hold nonprofit
organizations to account for the positions they take, especially when it comes
to their positions on respect for life, fertility, the nuclear family and the
aging.” stated Judie Brown, American Life League President. “Americans should
be fully informed before they choose to support any charity and our project
helps fulfill this need.”
The Charity Watchlist holds some surprises.
The Salvation Army, widely known for its Christian
ministry, features an overtly pro-life statement on its website. But as one
reads the complete message, more and more exceptions surface, raising serious
concerns for those donors who do not wish to support abortion in any context.
This alarming dichotomy has earned the organization a designation of red.
American Life League points out the misnomer of the nonprofit
named Children’s Defense
Fund. The group that
bills itself as championing policies and programs that lift children out of
poverty is certainly not defending preborn children. This organization promotes
abortion and contraception, even to children, and has had a relationship with
Planned Parenthood for decades. The Charity Watchlist tags Children’s Defense
Fund as red.
By contrast, Food for the Poor, an organization that serves the poor in
Latin America and the Caribbean, gets a Charity Watchlist green light for
giving. While providing food, medicine, and shelter (among other services),
Food for the Poor works to expand and build maternal health clinics in rural
areas but will not endorse abortion. The group severed its partnership with
Jamaica Aids Support for Life once they learned of its aggressive contraception
promotion.
“As the abortion industry has grown into a multi-billion-dollar
operation, more individuals and organizations have been corrupted and
participate in abortion,” observed Ed Martin, who leads STOPP, American Life League’s Planned
Parenthood watchdog division. He continued, “The Charity Watchlist is important
because it shines a light on organizations and exposes their connections to the
killing. When you follow the blood money, you see the truth about these
organizations.”
“You can take the Charity Watchlist one of two ways,” stated
Katie Brown, American Life League’s director of communications. “It’s an eye
opener to how many big-name nonprofits fund dirty programs, but what I think is
more important is that there are many nonprofits that do great things and keep
out of the weeds of abortion research. This is something people deserve to
know. Where we put our dollars counts, and nothing sends a message quite like
withholding funds from pro-abortion organizations.”
Brown offered the example of green-rated Alex’s Lemonade Stand
Foundation. Unlike many other organizations funding cancer research, this
pediatric cancer charity founded by neuroblastoma patient Alexandra “Alex”
Scott, states that research utilizing human embryonic stem cells is not
permissible and that the group will not fund it. She noted that many other
nonprofits funding cancer research are willing to support abortion for the sake
of using fetal cells. Among those earning the anti-life red designation are
American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Research Association, Children’s
Leukemia Research Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Susan G. Komen
for the Cure, and even St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“The Charity Watchlist is a significant project in the fight to
defend life and the truth,” shared American Life League’s lead researcher
Katherine Van Dyke. She stated, “While looking at many of these charities for
the first time, it was shocking at how many of them no longer even attempt to
hide their support for abortion and human embryonic stem cell research. The
culture of death stands right in front of our faces. The Charity Watchlist
seeks to educate and encourage the public to know, discern, and challenge these
organizations by making informed decisions for charitable giving, while
providing donors with information about alternative charities that promote and
support all human life and true charity.”
To illustrate this, Van Dyke related the story of the
green-lighted Fuller Center for
Housing and its
unrelenting Christ-centered quest to provide adequate shelter for all people.
Begun by Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller, the group split away from
Habitat for Humanity due to a change in board leadership, which chose to
minimize the Christian values of the organization. The Fuller Center upholds pro-life values and
does not support anti-life organizations or agendas. In comparison, Habitat for
Humanity is coded with a cautionary yellow because of partnerships with groups
that support abortion and contraception.
“The world is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Many organizations
that work to care for others do so at the expense of human dignity and truth,”
noted American Life League vice president Hugh Brown. “They feed, clothe, and
help those in need, while also providing access to abortion and contraception.
They affirm disordered lifestyles and give false hope to the most vulnerable.
American Life League’s Charity Watchlist shares the truth about many
duplicitous organizations that work and live serving two masters. We also
highlight those outstanding organizations going above and beyond to do good
works, serve others, and adhere to the moral standards taught and created by
Christ and His Church.”
ALL’s Charity Watchlist currently profiles more than 60 tax-exempt nonprofits based on their implementation of
life-affirming values or their endorsement of anti-life practices. American
Life League promises that the list will continue to grow and invites charitable
givers to submit nonprofit groups for Charity Watchlist review. View the
current Charity Watchlist at all.org/charity-watchlist.
About American Life League
American Life League has been part of the pro-life abortion
debate since its inception. Since 1979, American Life League has committed to
the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to
death with a pro-life integrity that stands up for every innocent human being
whose life is threatened by the culture of death. For more information visit all.org.
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