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==2008 U.S. presidential election==
==2008 U.S. presidential election==
Late in the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008|Democratic presidential primaries]], NARAL endorsed [[Barack Obama]] over [[Hillary Clinton]]. NARAL had long supported Clinton through her political career. NARAL's political committee board was divided between Clinton and Obama supporters, but eventually voted unanimously to support Obama. NARAL officials said they were not snubbing Clinton but rather acknowledging that Obama was likely to be the nominee and that there was a growing divide between black voters and white female activists.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/05/naral_endorses.html | work=The Boston Globe | title=NARAL endorses Obama | first=Foon | last=Rhee | date=May 14, 2008}}{{dead link|date=January 2015}}</ref>
Late in the [[Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008|Democratic presidential primaries]], NARAL endorsed [[Barack Obama]] over [[Hillary Clinton]]. NARAL had long supported Clinton through her political career. NARAL's political committee board was divided between Clinton and Obama supporters, but eventually voted unanimously to support Obama. NARAL officials said they were not snubbing Clinton but rather acknowledging that Obama was likely to be the nominee and that there was a growing divide between black voters and white female activists.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Seelye|first1=Katharine|title=Naral Picks Obama, and Uproar Breaks Out|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/us/politics/16campaign.html?_r=0|accessdate=4 May 2015|publisher=New York Times|date=May 16, 2008}}</ref>


NARAL's endorsement sparked heavy criticism from [[EMILY's List]], whose president, [[Ellen R. Malcolm]], said "I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton—who held up the nomination of an FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade—to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Jason|title=EMILY's List Trashes NARAL for Obama Endorsement|url=http://observer.com/2008/emilys-list-trashes-naral-obama-endorsement|accessdate=4 May 2015|publisher=New York Observer|date=May 14, 2008}}</ref>
NARAL's endorsement sparked heavy criticism from [[EMILY's List]], whose president, [[Ellen R. Malcolm]], said "I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton—who held up the nomination of an FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade—to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Jason|title=EMILY's List Trashes NARAL for Obama Endorsement|url=http://observer.com/2008/emilys-list-trashes-naral-obama-endorsement|accessdate=4 May 2015|publisher=New York Observer|date=May 14, 2008}}</ref>

Revision as of 16:45, 4 May 2015

National Abortion Rights Action League
AbbreviationNARAL
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
President
Ilyse Hogue[1]
Budget
$9,085,114 (2013)[2]
Websitewww.prochoiceamerica.org

NARAL Pro-Choice America /ˈnɛərəl/ is a 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in political action and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion and expand access to abortion.[3] NARAL is often used as a short form of the name. The organization was formerly known as the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then the National Abortion Rights Action League, and later the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

NARAL has an associated 501(c)(3) organization, the NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation, and an associated

abortion rights advocacy group in the United States.[4]

History

The precursor to NARAL was the Association to Repeal Abortion Laws (ARAL).[5] ARAL was an expansion of the "Army of Three" which was made up of pro-abortion activists Pat Maginnis, Rowena Gurner, and Lana Phelan. The Army of Three organized and distributed referral lists of illegal abortionists and held classes on do-it-yourself abortions in California.[6]

Betty Friedan

Originally called the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, NARAL was established at the "First National Conference on Abortion Laws: Modification or Repeal?", held February 14–16, 1969 in Chicago. Its formation was announced on the front page of

pro-choice
advocates asserted that women should determine what was best for themselves in consultation with their physicians. The conference voted to adopt the pro-choice position.

Those agents attending the session elected a 12-person Planning Committee for NARAL's formation: Lawrence Lader (Chairman), Ruth Proskauer Smith (Vice Chairman), Ruth Cusack (Secretary), Beatrice McClintock (Treasurer), Constance Bille Finnerty, Mrs. Marc Hughes Fisher, Betty Friedan, Norval Morris, Stewart Mott, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, Edna Smith, and Percy Sutton. The committee held its first official meeting in New York on February 25, 1969. It hired Lee Gidding as the first Executive Director; she opened NARAL's office in New York City on March 3.

The Planning Committee, meeting regularly between February and September 1969, defined NARAL's purpose and program, drafted bylaws to submit to the membership for approval, prepared a slate to run for the Board of Directors, and directed NARAL's activities. The Committee defined NARAL's purpose as follows:

NARAL, recognizing the basic human right of a woman to limit her own reproduction, is dedicated to the elimination of all laws and practices that would compel any woman to bear a child against her will. To that end, it proposes to initiate and co-ordinate political, social, and legal action of individuals and groups concerned with providing safe operations by qualified physicians for all women seeking them regardless of economic status.

The original NARAL program had six parts:

  1. Assist in the formation in all states of direct political action groups dedicated to the purpose of NARAL;
  2. Serve as a clearing house for activities related to NARAL's purpose;
  3. Create new materials for mass distribution which tell the repeal story dramatically and succinctly;
  4. Train field workers to organize and stimulate legislative action;
  5. Suggest direct action projects;
  6. Raise funds for the above activities.

The Board of Directors, elected by the membership, officially replaced the Planning Committee at the first Board meeting, held on September 27, 1969. The Board elected Honorary Officers (Co-Presidents Dr.

New York state legislature
voted to legalize abortion and the new law went into effect on July 1, 1970. On that day, NARAL held a medical conference at NYU Medical School to train physicians in non-hospital abortion techniques.

Mandatory pre-abortion waiting period laws in the United States of America
  No mandatory waiting period
  Waiting period of less than 24 hours
  Waiting period of 24 hours or more
  Waiting period law currently enjoined

From 1969 till early 1973, NARAL worked with other groups to repeal state abortion laws and to oversee implementation of abortion policies in those few states that had liberalized their laws. On January 22, 1973, in

U.S. Supreme Court held that, during the first three months of pregnancy, abortion should be a private decision between a woman and her doctor, and that during the second three months state regulation should be permitted only to protect the health of the woman. To reflect the Court's repeal of restrictive laws, NARAL became the National Abortion Rights Action League in late 1973.[7]

In 2003, the organization dropped the long form name in favor of "NARAL Pro-Choice America".[7][8] In 2003, the organization launched a massive television and print campaign in order to make abortion a key issue in the 2004 elections.[8]

Organization overview

NARAL is a

non-profit organization, and has approximately 20 state affiliates. NARAL and its affiliates have been criticized by some other pro-choice political activists, both for supporting pro-choice former Republicans Lincoln Chafee and Michael Bloomberg and for supporting moderate or conservative Democrats.[9]

Following the move of the organization's headquarters after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, Karen Mulhauser served as the first national executive director. Her tenure ran from 1974 to 1982. The next NARAL leader was Nanette Falkenburg, who served from 1982 until 1985; Kate Michelman became the next director until she announced her retirement in 2004. Nancy Keenan, formerly the Montana Superintendent of Schools, became President of NARAL and served until February 2013. Ilyse Hogue is the current president.

Activities

NARAL Pro-Choice America uses numerous tactics to

March for Women's Lives in 2004. NARAL also sponsors public sex education
and tracks state and national legislation affecting laws regarding abortion, women's health and rights.


In an ad featuring

U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, NARAL claimed that while U.S. Deputy Solicitor-General, Roberts supported "violent fringe groups and a convicted clinic bomber." While Roberts did argue before the Supreme Court that a 19th-century statute directed against the Ku Klux Klan did not apply to those protesting outside abortion clinics, the case in question occurred almost seven years before the bombing pictured in the ad and was entirely unrelated to clinic bombings.[12] The ad was retracted under pressure from other pro-choice groups as undercutting the credibility of the abortion rights cause.[13]

2008 U.S. presidential election

Late in the

Democratic presidential primaries, NARAL endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. NARAL had long supported Clinton through her political career. NARAL's political committee board was divided between Clinton and Obama supporters, but eventually voted unanimously to support Obama. NARAL officials said they were not snubbing Clinton but rather acknowledging that Obama was likely to be the nominee and that there was a growing divide between black voters and white female activists.[14]

NARAL's endorsement sparked heavy criticism from

Ellen R. Malcolm, said "I think it is tremendously disrespectful to Sen. Clinton—who held up the nomination of an FDA commissioner in order to force approval of Plan B and who spoke so eloquently during the Supreme Court nomination about the importance of protecting Roe vs. Wade—to not give her the courtesy to finish the final three weeks of the primary process. It certainly must be disconcerting for elected leaders who stand up for reproductive rights and expect the choice community will stand with them."[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Smith, Kathryn (February 28, 2013). "Long after Roe v. Wade, NARAL to redefine 'choice'". Politico. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  2. ^ "IRS Form 990 2013" (PDF). GuideStar. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ^ Searcy, Dionne (September 27, 2007). "Verizon Wireless Bars Abortion-Rights Group's Texting". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  4. ^ Kliff, Sarah (May 10, 2012). "Exclusive: NARAL President Nancy Keenan to step down". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. ISBN 9780520209527. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help
    )
  6. ISBN 9780813522456. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help
    )
  7. ^ a b "National Abortion Rights Action League Records, 1969–1976. Radcliffe College Harvard University archives". Cite error: The named reference "hist" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Lee, Jennifer (January 5, 2003). "Abortion Rights Group Plans A New Focus and a New Name". New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  9. ^ Jane Hamsher, "NARAL and Planned Parenthood Are Now the Enemies of Pro-Choice," The Huffington Post, February 24, 2006.
  10. ISBN 9780195089257. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help
    )
  11. ^ McVeigh, Karen (June 26, 2013). "North Dakota pro-choice advocates file lawsuit against strict abortion law". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  12. Annenberg Political Fact Check. August 9, 2005. Archived from Factcheck.org the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help
    )
  13. ^ Balz, Dan (August 12, 2005). "Abortion Rights Group Withdraws Anti-Roberts Ad". washingtonpost.com.
  14. ^ Seelye, Katharine (May 16, 2008). "Naral Picks Obama, and Uproar Breaks Out". New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  15. ^ Horowitz, Jason (May 14, 2008). "EMILY's List Trashes NARAL for Obama Endorsement". New York Observer. Retrieved 4 May 2015.

External links

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