American Life League urges life advocates to be fully informed about the organizations that they support with their charitable donations. Respected for decades of cutting-edge activism, American Life League delivers its Charity Watchlist, a fresh resource to this year’s March for Life Expo attendees. Those in attendance at the national exhibition in Washington, DC, will be invited to try out the free online tool designed to hold charities accountable and keep donors “in the know.”
While many charitable givers have been advised to research a nonprofit’s bottom line, it may not be second nature for most givers to look beyond the mission statement. American Life League’s Charity Watchlist makes it easy to learn about an organization’s support or rejection of abortion and related practices.
“Take for example, the American Red Cross,” invited Katie Brown, director of communications at American Life League. “This well-known emergency relief organization has been lauded for spending about 90 cents of every donated dollar to alleviate human suffering. Yet, Charity Watchlist reveals how the organization and its international affiliates support abortion under the umbrella of meeting ‘urgent humanitarian needs.’”
American Life League’s Charity Watchlist has assigned the American Red Cross the negative designation of red. The online index uses a simple stoplight green-yellow-red color coding to allow pro-life donors to know if they can “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.
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United Way, regularly spotlighted for its fiscal responsibility and low overhead spending of 15 cents per dollar, has been assigned an alarm-ringing red by Charity Watchlist. With a website that states it is “improving lives [and] strengthening communities,” United Way overtly supports Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider.
Also red-listed is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, loved by many for its pediatric treatment of childhood cancers and other diseases—all at no cost to patient families. Spending 82 percent of donor dollars on delivering care and researching cures, this nonprofit might appear to be a donor’s dream. However, Charity Watchlist has pointed out that multiple doctors on staff at St. Jude have actively participated in research utilizing human embryonic stem cells, placing the organization firmly on the “do not donate” list for life advocates.
“Charity Watchlist wants to highlight some of the more deceptive misunderstandings about nonprofit groups and their pro-life positions,” explained Katherine Van Dyke, American Life League’s lead researcher on the project, “as well as affirm those organizations that are doing good and remaining true to life-affirming principles.”
The American Heart Association is the largest private nonprofit funder of research into heart disease and related issues. Charity Watchlist gives the nonprofit a green “thumbs up” for pro-life donors, applauding the absence of human fetal stem cell or embryonic research and the organization’s lack of involvement in using human cells from IVF, cloning for human reproduction, or harvesting fetal tissue.
Charity Watchlist currently profiles around 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.
