WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a statement released to the media on March 9, 2007, Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of Life Decisions International (LDI), expressed his disappointment over the decision by "American Idol" to include two pro-abortion groups among the charities that will benefit from its "Idol Gives Back" project.

"American Idol" said the goal of the project, which was introduced to program viewers on March 8, 2007, is to "raise awareness of the effects of poverty on children and young people" in the United States and Africa. Corporate sponsors of the television show, such as Coca-Cola, AT&T, and the Ford Motor Company, have agreed to financially support the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund (CPEF), which will which will turn the money over to UNICEF, Save the Children, and several other groups. UNICEF and Save the Children are pro-abortion groups.

"It is laudable that the people involved with 'American Idol' want to help the poor," Scott said. "But it is tragic that they would choose to do so through groups like UNICEF and Save the Children. These groups have far too much deadly baggage." Scott urged Americans who do not believe killing preborn human beings is an acceptable "solution" to poverty and other "adult-created problems" to contact the corporations that own "American Idol."

"Ask the corporate officials to take whatever steps are necessary to drop UNICEF and Save the Children from the list of charities that will be supported through the 'Idol Gives Back' project," Scott said. "Tell them you want to participate in this admirable effort but your deeply held beliefs do not allow you to do so. Pro-family people should not be left out. We want to help, too." Pro-family Americans are also urged to include a few personal lines explaining why they want corporate officials to drop UNICEF and Save the Children.

Send an e-mail to: Jasmine Borhan, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Bertelsmann AG (jasmine.borhan@bertelsmann.de); Gunter Thielen, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer, Bertelsmann AG (gunter.thielen@bertelsmann.de); Gerhard Zeiler, Chief Executive Officer, RTLGroup (gerhard.zeiler@rtlgroup.com); Oliver Herrgesell, Executive Vice President Communications & Marketing, RTLGroup (oliver.herrgesell@rtlgroup.com); Tony Cohen, Chief Executive Officer, FremantleMedia Ltd. (tony.cohen@fremantlemedia.com); Lynne-Mei Lee, Corporate Communications, FremantleMedia Ltd. (lynne-mei.lee@fremantlemedia.com); and American Idol (idolgivesback@fox.com).

The e-mails to each respective corporate official may be identical and sent at the same time. Cut and paste: jasmine.borhan@bertelsmann.de; gunter.thielen@bertelsmann.de; gerhard.zeiler@rtlgroup.com; oliver.herrgesell@rtlgroup.com; tony.cohen@fremantlemedia.com; lynne-mei.lee@fremantlemedia.com; idolgivesback@fox.com

An e-mail address was not available for Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKX Inc. Please call (212-838-3100) or send a fax (212-872-1473) with the same message.

For more information about UNICEF and Save the Children, please read LDI's March 9, 2007 press release.

The following message was sent to the aforementioned corporate officials by LDI President Douglas R. Scott, Jr.:

Good day.

It is with deep sadness that I write to ask for your assistance in matter that is important to me as well as millions of other Americans.

As you know, "American Idol" has introduced a new project called "Idol Gives Back." This is a wonderful idea and everyone even remotely connected with "American Idol" (and this includes you) have good reason to be proud of that association.

Unfortunately, "Idol Gives Back" has announced that two highly controversial organizations will be among the charities that will benefit from the worthwhile project. We are writing to respectfully request your assistance. Please do everything in your power to convince "American Idol" to drop UNICEF and Save the Children from the list of groups that will receive funds from the "Idol Gives Back" project. UNICEF and Save the Children have far too much deadly baggage to be listed among the other charities that are worthy of support.

"For years UNICEF spokesmen denied promoting contraception or abortion," wrote Winifride Prestwich in "UNICEF: Guilty As Charged." She said records prove that "step by step over a 30-year period UNICEF has tied itself to the population controllers and to the anti-life, anti-family attitudes of such organizations as the International Planned Parenthood Federation." A major study released by the International Organizations Research Group (IORG) documented UNICEF's ties to abortion. The report showed that UNICEF has helped write many documents that call for increased access to abortion and the legalization of the deadly act worldwide. IORG discovered that UNICEF has funded a program run by the Population Council, the group that holds the U.S. patent for the deadly abortion pill, RU-486. UNICEF has also supported a South African group (LoveLife) that actively promotes abortion to its mostly underage audience. It is now official UNICEF policy to "Promote and expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, including access to condoms," the IORG report stated. A high-ranking UNICEF official even called for his group to "make condoms available and accessible for everybody, everywhere and at all times. Abstinence is simply not a realistic option for most young people in the world today," the UNICEF official said.

Save the Children has a working relationship with what it calls "prominent international organizations." Among these groups are several that are actively pro-abortion, including Better World Fund, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF. In 2001, Save the Children worked with Planned Parenthood, the Population Action Council and the pro-abortion National Audubon Society on its five-year "Planet Campaign." Save the Children said the campaign's website provided "an international forum for discussion of, and action on, women's reproductive health--including family planning--in various countries and diverse cultures around the world." Save the Children has stated that "family planning" has been a "critical component" of its work for nearly 20 years. The group quoted a UNICEF document which stated that "family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race." Save the Children noted that the report identified "access to family planning" as a "key factor contributing to maternal and child survival and well-being."

People who care about all children--both born and preborn--do not want to be left out of this great effort to assist the poor. We are caring people who want to do out part, but we will be prevented from doing so if UNICEF and Save the Children are funded by the project.

Regardless of any individual's personal views on abortion, it is simply not a good idea for a corporation to become embroiled in what is clearly the most divisive issue of our time. Please take whatever steps are necessary to drop UNICEF and Save the Children from the list of charities that will be supported through the "Idol Gives Back" project. And please select charities that everyone can be proud to support.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.