American Life League Releases Pro-Life Rating System Of Charities

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.