Contact: Matthew Faraci, Americans United for Life, 202-556-1994, press@aul.org

WASHINGTON, July 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is Dr. Charmaine Yoest's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 1, 2010:

Thank you Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Sessions, and members of the Committee for inviting me to testify on behalf of Americans United for Life (AUL), the oldest national pro-life public-interest law and policy organization.  Our vision at AUL is a nation where everyone is welcomed in life and protected by law.  We have been committed to defending human life through vigorous judicial, legislative, and educational efforts since 1971, and have been involved in every abortion-related case before the Supreme Court including Roe v. Wade.  In fact, thirty years ago this week AUL successfully defended the constitutionality of the Hyde Amendment before the Supreme Court in Harris v. McRae, a landmark case in defense of unborn human life.

I am here tonight because of AUL's strong opposition to the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court.  Based on our research, we believe that Ms. Kagan will be an agenda-driven justice on the Court, and that she will oppose even the most widely-accepted protections for unborn human life. 

These hearings have strengthened our opposition to Ms. Kagan's appointment as the record shows she was willing to manipulate the facts to pursue her own personal political agenda while serving as an advisor to President Clinton.  Indeed, she demonstrated a pattern of behavior of letting her passion for a particular policy -- in this case partial-birth abortion -- overwhelm her judgment.

Tonight I'd like to make three points: 

First, I urge this Committee to officially investigate the discrepancies that have arisen this week between Ms. Kagan's testimony and the written record about her actions related to lobbying the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists during her tenure in the Clinton White House.  The questions surrounding this period are troubling and call into question Ms. Kagan's ability to adopt an impartial judicial temperament.

Second, Ms. Kagan has an extensive record that demonstrates her hostility to regulations of abortion and any protections for unborn human life. We believe that Kagan would undermine any efforts by our elected representatives to pass or defend even the most widely-accepted commonsense regulations of abortion like bans on partial-birth abortion, parental notification and informed consent.  Her testimony this week, particularly her response to Senator Feinstein that any regulation of abortion requires the Doe health exception, has added to this concern.

To read Dr. Yoest's entire statement please click here:
www.aul.org/2010/07/transcript-yoest-testimony-from-kagan-hearings