MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), the state's oldest and largest pro-life organization, today celebrates 46 years of dedication to protecting and defending human life. Many lives have been saved, protective laws passed and hearts changed due to the tireless efforts of MCCL volunteers and contributors throughout the decades.
"The dedicated, compassionate work of our thousands of grass-roots members is the sustaining power of Minnesota's pro-life movement," said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. "MCCL is one of the most effective pro-life organizations in the nation, thanks to these activists. They are steadily transforming our state's culture into one that respects and protects all innocent human life at every stage."MCCL has taken a three-pronged approach to advancing its lifesaving mission. First, citizens are continually educated on the threats to human life posed by abortion, euthanasia, infanticide and embryo-destructive experiments. People are then mobilized to become active pro-life citizens who in turn work to educate others and to support passage of lifesaving laws. Third, MCCL members work to establish legal protection for vulnerable lives.
From a handful of pro-life activists in 1968, MCCL has grown to include more than 70,000 member families and 200 chapters across the state. Together they deliver pro-life educational messages through booths at 90 county fairs and Student Day at the Capitol, call for protective legislation at the Jan. 22 MCCL March for Life and as citizen lobbyists, work with public officials to pass legislation protecting the right to life, and much more.
MCCL has expanded its reach in recent years, gaining approval to hold consultative status with the United Nations. MCCL Global Outreach (MCCL GO) has fought to protect the right to life internationally at the World Health Assembly, the Commission on Population and Development and other U.N. events. MCCL GO has created materials on maternal mortality, how abortion hurts women, and the critical importance of the first 1,000 days of life. These have been translated into 10 languages and distributed worldwide.
MCCL's innovation and leadership led to passage of one of the nation's first Parental Notification laws in 1981, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and became model legislation for other states. MCCL also has been instrumental in passage of Minnesota's Human Conceptus law (1973), Baby Doe provisions to protect disabled infants (1985), Fetal Homicide law (1986), tightened law on assisted suicide (1992), Woman's Right to Know law (2003), Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act (2005), Positive Alternatives (2005) and a ban on taxpayer funding of human cloning at the University of Minnesota (2009). MCCL also helped bring national attention to the brutal partial-birth abortion method when it was uncovered in 1993.
Abortion numbers have steadily declined since 2006 as a result of recent protective measures. In addition, MCCL has helped to pass seven pro-life initiatives in the Legislature since 2011, including the licensing and inspection of abortion facilities and a ban on dangerous webcam abortions. Gov. Mark Dayton has vetoed all of these protective measures.
"It is very troubling to watch the governor protect the interests of the abortion industry at the expense of women and unborn children," Fischbach said. "MCCL will continue to compassionately fight for those who cannot fight for themselves."
