NATIONAL PRO-LIFE NEWS
Minnesota Pro-Life Group Marks 35 Years of Service
June 10, 2003
Minneapolis, MN (LifeNews.com) — Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL), the state’s oldest and largest right-to-life organization, turns 35 this week. MCCL was incorporated on June 12, 1968, as a nonprofit public service organization dedicated exclusively to the single issue of life itself. The Virginia Society for Human Life, Inc., became the nation’s first pro-life group when it
formed late in 1967, only months ahead of MCCL.
"MCCL represents mainstream Minnesotans who are bound by the
common belief that each human life is precious and worth
protecting," said MCCL’s Executive Director, Scott Fischbach.
"The right to life is so central that all other rights are
meaningless unless that fundamental right to life is first
secured."
Founded by a handful of dedicated individuals who first met in
members’ living rooms and kitchens, MCCL has grown its grassroots
structure to include 241 chapters and 77,000 contributors
statewide. MCCL’s strength at the Legislature has increased over
the years, said Fischbach, due to an organizational structure
that allows likeminded individuals to band together and to act as
a cohesive and positive force for change.
"We are a helping and caring public service organization that
works through our local chapters in schools, civic groups and churches to build a culture of life that recognizes and respects
innocent human life at every stage of development," said
Fischbach. "MCCL’s approach is to focus on three areas: educating
the public, organizing pro-lifers into a powerful, unified voice,
and motivating that grassroots force into action."
MCCL has long been recognized as one of the state’s "political
heavyweights" at the Capitol. Among the many pro-life laws
enacted since MCCL’s formation include a law to prohibit
experimentation on living aborted babies; a law requiring
parental notification of minors seeking an abortion; a law to
protect disabled infants from withdrawal of medically indicated
treatment; an amended law to provide maternity care in policies
written to cover Minnesota residents; a fetal homicide law to
impose penalties on those who kill or injure an unborn baby other
than in the commission of a legal abortion; a law to tighten
existing law against assisted suicide; an abortion-data
reporting law; and a law to provide women considering an abortion
with information about its risks and alternatives prior to
arriving at a clinic to undergo the procedure. For a full list of
MCCL’s Legislative History, visit: https://mccl.org/leg_hist.htm.
"Our founding members had the foresight to see the need to
protect the right to life for all Minnesotans before legalized
abortion began to claim nearly 15,000 innocent lives every year
in this state," said Fischbach. "MCCL’s grassroots members are working daily not only to protect these precious lives, but also
to protect those innocent human beings threatened with death and
experimentation as human clones or embryos and other people
threatened with death from infanticide, euthanasia or
doctor-assisted suicide."
