WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Americans United for Life (AUL) filed an amicus brief in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, detailing the links between abortion and the increased risk of depression and suicide. The brief seeks to overturn a lower court's decision that abortion providers in South Dakota are not required to inform women of these risks.

"Abortion is not a safe choice for women," noted Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President of AUL, "and the mounting evidence of its negative physical and psychological impact cannot be ignored. We have a legal and moral responsibility to inform them about the well-documented, increased risks of depression and suicide associated with abortion."

In June 2005, Planned Parenthood filed suit against a newly-enacted South Dakota law requiring abortion providers to inform women that abortion increases the risk of suicide, that women have an existing relationship with an unborn child, and that abortion terminates "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." Later, in August 2009, a federal district court invalidated the first two requirements, but permitted the requirement that women be told that abortion ends a human life to be enforced.

AUL Attorney Mailee Smith explained, "In challenging this law, Planned Parenthood has demonstrated -- yet again -- that it is not a defender of women's health. If this were the case, Planned Parenthood would fight for laws that protect women rather than advocating for laws that attempt to hide risks from them."

On the brief, AUL is representing several well-respected medical groups: the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), the Catholic Medical Association, Physicians for Life, and the National Association of Pro-life Nurses.

AUL's brief in Planned Parenthood v. Rounds is available at http://blog.aul.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/PP-v-Rounds-AUL-amicus-brief.pdf.

About Americans United for Life

Americans United for Life is the first national pro-life organization in America. In 1980, AUL successfully defended the Hyde Amendment before the U.S. Supreme Court in Harris v. McRae.

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