Americans United for Life

Americans United for Life (AUL) is a United States nonprofit legal organization and advocacy group focused primarily on opposing abortion and promoting legislation and litigation intended to protect fetal life. Founded in Washington, D.C., in 1971, before the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, AUL initially participated in intellectual and constitutional debates over abortion. In 1975, its founders reorganized the organization as a legal body, giving litigation, legislative drafting, and public-policy advocacy a central role in its work. AUL's policy agenda has extended beyond abortion to include opposition to euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning, infanticide, and some contraceptive or emergency-contraception products that the organization argues may prevent implantation or otherwise contribute to abortion. Its position has not always been identical to an absolute prohibition of every abortion or to opposition to all contraception. During its early years, disagreements over the breadth of its anti-abortion position led some members to depart and form the United States Coalition for Life. The organization became particularly associated with constitutional litigation and the development of model legislation for state lawmakers. It played a role in defending the Hyde Amendment in Harris v. McRae, the 1980 Supreme Court case that upheld restrictions on federal Medicaid funding for abortion. AUL's Legal Defense Fund represented Representative Henry Hyde and other supporters of the amendment, while board member Victor Rosenblum argued the case before the Court. AUL also worked with state attorneys general and legislators on restrictions concerning late-term and so-called partial-birth abortion, including efforts that contributed to the Supreme Court's 2007 decision upholding the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. AUL publishes model bills and the annual Defending Life guidebook for policymakers. Its model legislation has addressed parental or physician notification for minors, disclosures concerning alleged abortion risks, bans on assisted suicide and human cloning, restrictions on certain stem-cell research, and state objections to abortion-related provisions of federal health-care legislation. Its Pregnant Woman's Protection Act, introduced in model form in 2008, became the subject of criticism after related bills were proposed in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa; critics argued that its language concerning defensive force could be interpreted too broadly. The group has also pursued public campaigns. It opposed the Freedom of Choice Act through an online petition, organized a virtual anti-abortion march, supported a campaign related to Tim Tebow's Super Bowl advertisement, and worked with allied organizations against federal funding for Planned Parenthood. In 2009 and 2010, AUL opposed approval of ulipristal acetate, marketed as ella, and it previously petitioned the Food and Drug Administration regarding RU-486. It also criticized early fetal-sex testing on the ground that some parents might use such information in decisions to terminate a pregnancy. AUL has participated in debates over Supreme Court nominations and federal health-care legislation. During the 2009 health-care debate, then-president Charmaine Yoest met with Obama administration representatives regarding conscience protections and abortion funding. AUL later opposed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and campaigned against lawmakers who supported it. The organization has also opposed nominees it regarded as supportive of abortion rights, including Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer. In later public debate, president Catherine Glenn Foster drew criticism for remarks before the House Judiciary Committee concerning abortion following rape. AUL remains a U.S.-focused anti-abortion policy and legal advocacy organization.

Americans United for Life was established in Washington, D.C., in 1971, two years before Roe v. Wade made abortion constitutionally protected nationwide. George Huntston Williams, a Unitarian minister and Harvard Divinity School professor, served as its first chairman of the board. The organization began as a forum for intellectual and legal debate about abortion, with an early strategic objective of developing a case that could eventually persuade the Supreme Court to reverse Roe. In 1975, the founders reorganized AUL into a legal organization, which strengthened its emphasis on litigation, constitutional argument, legislative drafting, and legal education. AUL's early policy was not uniformly identical to the later image of a comprehensive abortion prohibition movement. Some members supported access to contraception, while internal disagreements over whether the organization should condemn every form of abortion caused several members to leave and establish the United States Coalition for Life. During the 1970s, AUL-affiliated writers and legal scholars argued that abortion endangered women's health and challenged what they regarded as expanding acceptance of abortion and contraception. The organization's most consequential early legal work involved public funding. In Harris v. McRae, decided by the Supreme Court in 1980, the Court upheld the Hyde Amendment's limitations on federal Medicaid reimbursement for abortion and held that participating states were not required to fund medically necessary abortions for which federal reimbursement was unavailable because of the amendment. AUL's Legal Defense Fund represented Representative Henry Hyde and other defenders of the amendment, and AUL board member Victor Rosenblum argued before the Court. The case became an important foundation for AUL's continuing strategy of using litigation to support abortion restrictions. AUL later expanded its efforts against late-term abortion. From 1997 through 2000, it worked with state attorneys general on partial-birth-abortion legislation and supported a Virginia ban on a late-term procedure. It also backed proposed fetal-pain disclosures in 21 states in 2006 and participated in litigation that helped uphold the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2007. In 1987, the organization set out its constitutional strategy in the book Abortion and the Constitution: Reversing Roe v. Wade Through the Courts. Its approach was influenced by the NAACP's use of litigation and legislation as mutually reinforcing tools for institutional change. Model legislation became a defining AUL activity. The organization prepares annual bills and distributes them through its Defending Life guidebook, which is directed toward state legislators and other policy participants. Its proposals have covered parental or physician notification for minors, disclosures about alleged abortion risks, restrictions on assisted suicide, human cloning and selected stem-cell research, and state opt-outs from abortion-related provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The Pregnant Woman's Protection Act, developed in 2008, sought to give pregnant women stronger legal protection against physical attack, particularly domestic violence. Related proposals in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa generated criticism over language that opponents believed could authorize excessive force against persons connected with abortion services. AUL has also opposed particular drugs and technologies. It petitioned the FDA in 1995 concerning RU-486, arguing for the strictest possible review of the abortion-inducing drug. In 2009 and 2010 it opposed approval of ulipristal acetate, sold as ella, on the theory that it could cause abortion. The group criticized early fetal-sex testing, including the Baby Gender Mentor, because it believed early disclosure could encourage sex-selective abortion. Its wider agenda has included opposition to euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning, infanticide, and some contraceptive methods. In the political arena, AUL opposed the Freedom of Choice Act, organized an online petition, and created a virtual March for Life for participants unable to travel to Washington. It also supported a campaign around Tim Tebow's anti-abortion Super Bowl advertisement. During the 2009 health-care debate, president Charmaine Yoest met with Obama administration representatives concerning conscience protections and abortion funding. AUL subsequently opposed the Affordable Care Act and targeted congressional supporters. It similarly opposed Supreme Court nominees and justices whom it viewed as supportive of abortion rights, including Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, as well as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. In 2011, the organization's affiliated 501(c)(4) entity, AUL Action, joined Expose Planned Parenthood and advocated ending federal funding for Planned Parenthood. It issued a lengthy report alleging financial and patient-care abuses, contributing to a House committee investigation. In 2022, president Catherine Glenn Foster's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about abortion following the rape of a ten-year-old girl prompted a public rebuttal from the Human Rights Campaign. AUL continues to operate as a U.S. anti-abortion legal and legislative advocacy organization.

• 2011

  AUL Action joined Expose Planned Parenthood

  [1]Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org

  The affiliated advocacy organization joined a campaign seeking to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

• 2008

  Pregnant Woman's Protection Act developed

  [1]Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org

  AUL produced model legislation intended to strengthen legal protections for pregnant women against physical attacks.

• 1987

  Constitutional strategy published

  [1]Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org

  AUL published Abortion and the Constitution: Reversing Roe v. Wade Through the Courts.

• 1980

  Hyde Amendment defended before the Supreme Court

  [1]Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org

  AUL's Legal Defense Fund supported the defense of the Hyde Amendment in Harris v. McRae.

• 1975

  Reorganized as a legal organization

  [1]Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org

  The founders reorganized AUL into a legal organization focused on litigation and legislative advocacy.

• 1971

  Organization founded

  [1]Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org

  Americans United for Life was founded in Washington, D.C., before the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision.

AUL positions itself as a legal and legislative organization seeking to advance anti-abortion and broader pro-life policy through constitutional litigation, model bills, policymaker education, coalition campaigns, and public advocacy.

• Policy guidebook

  Defending Life

  An annual guidebook that presents AUL's model legislation and policy recommendations for state legislators and other participants in the legislative process. Its subject areas have included abortion restrictions, parental and physician notification, abortion-related disclosures, assisted suicide, cloning, stem-cell research, and conscience protections.

• Legal advocacy program

  AUL Legal Defense Fund

  A legal advocacy vehicle used to support litigation and courtroom representation concerning abortion restrictions and related public-policy questions. It represented Henry Hyde and other defenders of the Hyde Amendment in Harris v. McRae and participated in later abortion litigation.

• Legislative advocacy

  Model legislation

  AUL develops draft bills for state lawmakers. Its model legislation has addressed parental notification, disclosures about abortion, late-term abortion, assisted suicide, human cloning, stem-cell research, health-care conscience protections, and legal protections for pregnant women.

• 2011Expose Planned Parenthood

  United States

  AUL Action partnered with other organizations to campaign against federal funding for Planned Parenthood and published a report alleging financial and patient-care abuses.

  Outcome. The report contributed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's decision to investigate Planned Parenthood.

  Source
• 2010Virtual March for Life

  United States

  AUL organized an online participation campaign for anti-abortion supporters unable to attend the physical March for Life in Washington.

  Outcome. The virtual event reportedly involved approximately 85,000 participants.

  Source
• 2010Support Tebow's Super Bowl Ad

  United States

  AUL created a Facebook campaign supporting Tim Tebow's anti-abortion Super Bowl television advertisement.

  Source
• 2008Freedom of Choice Act opposition campaign

  United States

  AUL created a website and online petition opposing the proposed Freedom of Choice Act, using digital organizing to mobilize anti-abortion supporters.

  Outcome. The petition had reportedly collected more than 700,000 signatures by September 2011; the proposed act did not become federal law.

  Source

• 2009

  Opposition to the Affordable Care ActStrategy

  Background

  AUL argued that the health-care reform legislation lacked sufficient language barring abortion funding and protecting providers who objected to abortion services.

  Action taken

  After meeting with administration representatives about conscience protection, AUL opposed the legislation and its affiliated action group targeted supportive House members.

  Source

• 2009

  Opposition to ulipristal acetateOther

  Background

  AUL opposed FDA approval of ulipristal acetate, marketed as ella, because it argued that the drug could cause an abortion.

  Action taken

  The organization campaigned against approval and use of the product in the United States.

  Source

• 2006

  Support for the Pregnant Women Support ActStrategy

  Background

  AUL supported federal legislation introduced by Representative Lincoln Davis that sought to reduce the prevalence of abortion.

  Action taken

  The organization advocated for the proposed Pregnant Women Support Act.

  Source

• 1995

  Petition against RU-486 approval standardsOther

  Background

  AUL objected to the abortion-inducing drug RU-486 and sought strict regulatory review by the Food and Drug Administration.

  Action taken

  The organization filed a petition asking the FDA to apply the most stringent available standards when reviewing the drug.

  Source

1. 1Americans United for Lifeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Americans United for Life official websiteaul.org