'We will build on our legislative and litigation success of 2011.'.

• Position: FOR THE RECORD: CHARMAINE YOEST - Interview

Charmaine Yoest is the president of Americans United for Life, a pro-life organization founded in 1971. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Virginia and came to Americans United for Life three years ago after working as an adviser to the presidential campaign of Mike Huckabee. She also has worked as project director of the Family, Gender and Tenure Project at the University of Virginia, and as a vice president at the Family Research Council, one of the largest pro-family public policy organizations in the country.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

American United for Life recently released the report "The Case for Investigating Planned Parenthood," which led to an investigation of Planned Parenthood by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.

State Legislatures: Why was the Indiana vote to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood an important one?

Yoest: The law received convincing support in the legislature which voted 66-to-32 in favor of the measure--because an over-whelming number of Americans, 72 percent in one poll, do not want their tax dollars used to fund or subsidize abortion. The debate and vote in Indiana strongly reinforced this sentiment and raised legitimate questions about whether or not Planned Parenthood affiliates in Indiana and across the nation have been misusing taxpayer dollars. Notably, Indiana was the first of nine states to take action in 2011 to eliminate or limit taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

SL: Do you anticipate more such legislation this year?

Yoest: Currently, one of our most popular pieces of model legislation is our new Abortion Subsidy Prohibition Act, which provides legislators with legally sound language to prohibit virtually all potential direct and indirect use of taxpayer dollars for abortion, abortion counselling or abortion referrals.

SL: Do you think the pro-life movement has more support at the state level than in the past?

Yoest: In November 2010, Americans across the nation voted for strong pro-life candidates, and many state legislative chambers, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives, became demonstrably more pro-life. As a result, in 2011, an historic number of pro-life state laws were enacted. AUL saw 28 pieces of legislation based on its models pass. We expect this life-affirming trend to continue in 2012.

SL: What do you see as the key consequences of stopping state funding for Planned Parenthood?

Yoest: Again and again...