President Donald Trump has appointed the pro-life advocate and former president of Americans United for Life (AUL), Dr. Charmaine Yoest, to be assistant secretary of public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
National pro-life leader and Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser responded to the announcement of Yoest’s appointment with the following statement:
Charmaine Yoest is one of the pro-life movement’s most articulate and powerful communicators. As the former president and CEO of Americans United for Life, she led groundbreaking efforts to advance pro-life, pro-woman legislation at the state level. She is perfectly suited to take on this role at HHS and it is no surprise to see President Trump once again appoint a strong, pro-life woman to his team. The fact that Yoest will be replacing Kevin Griffis, who now works for Planned Parenthood, is another indication of the dramatic change we’ve seen in Washington since the election of President Trump. This is a new era for the pro-life movement and our fight to protect unborn children and their mothers from the horror of abortion.
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest provider of abortions, reacted to Yoest’s appointment with a tweet expressing its disapproval:
Someone with history of promoting #AlternativeFacts shouldn't be in an @HHSGov position that informs the public. https://t.co/ypPlHQ2ywG
— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) April 28, 2017
As president of AUL, Yoest worked to emphasize the negative consequences of abortion for both women and their unborn babies and to require young girls to obtain the consent of their parents prior to obtaining abortions.
Yoest has been a senior fellow at American Values in Washington, DC. She served in the White House under President Ronald Reagan in the Office of Presidential Personnel. Additionally, she served as a Trump for President surrogate and a senior adviser to the 2008 Huckabee for President campaign.
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