Tax ID no. EIN: 52-1238301 Founded 1 April 1979 Expenses 4.991 million USD (2012) | Focus Reproductive Health Area served United States Founder Judie Brown Revenue 5.023 million USD (2012) | |
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Successor Life Amendment PACAmerican Life Lobby Products bookletspamphetsother printed materials [1] Similar Pro‑Life Action League, Americans United for Life, Feminists for Life, Planned Parenthood, Susan B Anthony List Profiles | ||
American Life League, Inc. (ALL) is an American Catholic grassroots pro-life organization. The group opposes abortion under any circumstance and opposes all forms of contraception, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia. ALL has a no-exceptions, no-compromise position. Its current president is cofounder Judie Brown and its headquarters is in Stafford, Virginia.
Contents
History
American Life League was founded on April 1, 1979 by Judie Brown and nine other pro-life Americans after a schism with the National Right to Life Committee. Within less than a year of its founding, ALL had 68,000 members and received assistance founding ALL from Howard Phillips, publicity from Heritage Foundation co-founder Paul Weyrich, and membership lists provided by right-wing direct mail specialist Richard Viguerie.
Street tactics
ALL helped to establish the "rescue movement", which utilizes several tactics against abortion and related services. These tactics, adopted and popularized by ALL, include sidewalk counseling and offering abortion alternatives to abortion-seeking patients. According to Brown these activities are free speech, and in 1994 ALL filed suit to challenge the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. In American Life League v. Reno [2], ALL lost in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
Disney boycotts
In March 1995, the American Life League boycotted the then-owners of Miramax, the Walt Disney Company over the film Priest, in which a Roman Catholic priest deals with a variety of issues including his own homosexuality. Subsequently, ALL charged that Disney had concealed subliminal sexual messages in the animated films The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. Disney denied all claims made by American Life League. Snopes states the ALL claims about both Aladdin and The Little Mermaid are false. However, their claim about The Lion King is listed by the site as "undetermined".
Spending
As of 2012, the non-profit charity evaluator Charity Navigator gives ALL a ranking of 2 out of 4 stars for financial accountability and transparency. In 2005, ALL was on Charity Navigator's list of highest paid CEOs, with one-third of its income spent on fundraising and administrative expenses and $699,857 (almost 9% of it income) paid out to its CEOs.