Human Life International is an American-based Roman Catholic activist pro-life organization. Founded in 1981 by Father Paul Marx (1920–2010), HLI is located in Front Royal, Virginia. Human Life International describes itself as "the largest international pro-life organization in the world", noting that it has affiliates and associates in over 100 nations worldwide.[1] It has collaborated with secular organizations as well as those of various other religious denominations.
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HLI founder Marx was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League in 1998, after accusations that he had referred to the "Jewish domination" of the pro-choice movement, as well as commenting that most French pro-choice activists were "Jewish", and once referred to a "female Jewish liar" whom he heard at a Bucharest World Population Conference. He is accused of making further controversial remarks in 1987, comparing abortion to the Holocaust and describing the former as a 'greater holocaust'.[3] These charges are not corroborated with references to HLI's own publications, where the statements were allegedly made.
HLI stated that criticizing pro-choice Jews for their advocacy of abortion no more made Father Marx "anti-Semitic" than his constant criticism of pro-choice Catholics made him "anti-Catholic".[4] HLI also points out that the founder of NARAL, Bernard Nathanson, was an abortionist who became a pro-life activist, including regular collaborations with HLI, and even speaking at HLI conferences. Nathanson, who was Jewish, also called abortion "the most atrocious holocaust in the history of the United States." HLI has challenged its critics to produce evidence of anti-Semitism other than that which appears in its critics' publications.[5]