Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America
Professional services
UnclaimedA U.S. anti-abortion advocacy organization and political network that supports candidates and policies intended to restrict or end abortion.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is an American 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization focused on reducing and ultimately ending abortion in the United States. It operates as a political and electoral network rather than as a consumer-facing commercial brand. Its work includes candidate endorsements, campaign spending, lobbying, grassroots organizing, public communications, voter mobilization, and policy research. Its electoral activity is conducted in part through the affiliated SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund political action committee. The organization was created in the political environment surrounding the 1992 U.S. elections. Rachel MacNair, then associated with Feminists for Life, was influenced by the success of EMILY's List, an abortion-rights political fundraising organization that helped elect Democratic women who supported abortion rights. MacNair sought to create a counterpart for anti-abortion women candidates. The organization was formally established as a political action committee in February 1993 with support from the National Women's Coalition for Life. Its name invokes Susan B. Anthony, the nineteenth-century American suffrage leader, because the organization presents itself as part of a pro-life feminist tradition. Marjorie Dannenfelser and Jane Abraham brought political and organizational experience to the early group. In 1994, the organization reported helping eight of fifteen selected candidates win office. After weaker results in 1996, Dannenfelser and Abraham reorganized it in 1997 as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit with a connected PAC. Candidate-support rules became more restrictive: candidates were expected to have a demonstrated anti-abortion record and a realistic prospect of winning. Although the group initially concentrated on women, it began supporting selected male candidates in 1998. One early example was Peter Fitzgerald, who received SBA List assistance during his successful 1998 Illinois Senate campaign. During the 2000s and 2010s, the organization expanded its fundraising, communications, lobbying, and electoral operations. It opposed abortion coverage in federal health-care legislation, supported the Stupak-Pitts Amendment during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, and criticized lawmakers whom it viewed as insufficiently opposed to abortion. In 2010, it withdrew an intended award for Representative Bart Stupak after he accepted an agreement with President Barack Obama concerning abortion funding in health-care legislation. The group subsequently supported efforts to challenge Stupak politically, and he later retired from Congress. The organization became especially visible through its campaigns against public funding for Planned Parenthood and its support for federal and state abortion restrictions, including the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. In 2011, it conducted a bus tour with Live Action through congressional districts, praising or criticizing representatives over votes concerning Planned Parenthood funding. It also purchased broadcast advertising supporting Republican members of Congress who backed the Pence Amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. Its broader institutional network includes the Charlotte Lozier Institute, founded in 2011 as a research and education arm. The institute produces policy material and research used in abortion-related legal and political debates. SBA Pro-Life America has participated in litigation-related advocacy, including an amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The organization has also been involved in conservative policy networks, including the advisory board of Project 2025. In 2018, President Donald Trump addressed the group's annual Campaign for Life Gala, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to speak at one of its events. The organization remains an active participant in American anti-abortion politics, particularly in candidate recruitment, legislative advocacy, judicial-policy debates, and election campaigns.
History
The organization originated in the aftermath of the 1992 U.S. congressional elections, often called the Year of the Woman. Rachel MacNair, a peace and anti-abortion activist associated with Feminists for Life, watched a television report about EMILY's List and its early campaign-funding model. She concluded that anti-abortion activists needed a comparable organization to identify and finance candidates, especially women, who opposed abortion. Fifteen anti-abortion organizations formed the National Women's Coalition for Life in 1992 and adopted a shared statement. After abortion-rights-supporting women achieved significant electoral gains, MacNair announced the formation of the Susan B. Anthony List. The National Women's Coalition for Life provided initial support, and the organization registered as a PAC on February 4, 1993. Its first public event was held in Washington, D.C., that month and raised more than nine thousand dollars according to historical accounts. The early organization had limited political experience. Susan Gibbs was an early board member, while Marjorie Dannenfelser and Jane Abraham were recruited to provide experienced leadership. Dannenfelser initially served as executive director, operating from her home in Arlington, Virginia. The group reported helping eight of fifteen selected candidates win office in 1994. The 1996 election cycle was less successful: two supported challengers won, while five supported incumbents retained their seats. In 1997, Abraham and Dannenfelser reorganized the operation into its current nonprofit structure, combining a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization with a connected candidate fund. The group tightened its endorsement criteria. Candidates were expected not merely to declare opposition to abortion but to have a record demonstrating that position and a credible chance of winning. The organization initially emphasized women candidates but experimented with supporting men in 1998. Republican Peter Fitzgerald was one of three men endorsed in that pilot effort and received financial assistance during his successful Illinois Senate campaign. Abraham served as president from 1997 to 2006, after which Dannenfelser became president. During the 2000s, the organization expanded fundraising and electoral activity. It worked to prevent abortion coverage in federal health-care legislation, backed the Stupak-Pitts Amendment during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, and criticized Democratic lawmakers whom it considered insufficiently opposed to abortion. Its dispute with Representative Bart Stupak in 2010 illustrated the organization's insistence that procedural assurances were not enough if a lawmaker ultimately voted for legislation it believed permitted federal abortion funding. The group increased its public profile through high-profile speakers, state-level demonstrations, advertising, and targeted congressional campaigns. In 2010, it hosted events involving figures including Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, and Michele Bachmann. Its Votes Have Consequences project targeted lawmakers whose health-care votes were viewed as inconsistent with the organization's position. In 2011, it joined Live Action in a bus tour concerning Planned Parenthood funding and spent money on broadcast advertisements supporting Republicans who had voted for the Pence Amendment. It also supported the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and related federal and state restrictions. The Charlotte Lozier Institute was established in 2011 as the organization's research and education arm. It has supplied reports and arguments for public campaigns and abortion-related litigation. The institute submitted an amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, supporting Mississippi's restriction on abortions after fifteen weeks. After the Supreme Court's 2022 decision holding that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, SBA Pro-Life America continued campaigning for state and federal restrictions. The organization has also participated in broader conservative policy networks. It is listed as an advisory-board member of Project 2025 and has received substantial support from conservative funding networks, including the Concord Fund. Its research affiliate attracted criticism after a study concerning emergency-room visits following medication abortion was cited in litigation against mifepristone approval and later retracted in 2024. The retraction cited methodological problems and undisclosed affiliations. Despite these controversies, SBA Pro-Life America remains active in U.S. elections, public policy, legislative lobbying, judicial advocacy, and anti-abortion voter mobilization.
- 2022
Post-Dobbs advocacy environment
[1]The Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling overturned the constitutional framework established by Roe v. Wade, changing the legal and political environment in which the organization operates.
- 2018
Sitting U.S. president addresses gala
[1]Donald Trump became the first sitting president to address the group's Campaign for Life Gala.
- 2011
Charlotte Lozier Institute founded
[1]The organization created a research and education affiliate named for Charlotte Denman Lozier.
- 1998
Male candidates added to pilot endorsements
[1]The organization expanded beyond its original focus on women by endorsing three male candidates in a pilot program.
- 1997
501(c)(4) reorganization
[1]The organization was reorganized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit with an affiliated candidate fund.
- 1994
Early electoral success
[1]The group reported helping eight of fifteen selected candidates gain office.
- 1993
Political action committee established
[1]The organization was formally created as a PAC with Rachel MacNair listed as its first secretary.
- 1992
National Women's Coalition for Life formed
[1]Fifteen anti-abortion organizations formed an umbrella coalition that later sponsored the Susan B. Anthony List.
Products and positioning
A national anti-abortion political advocacy organization that frames abortion restriction as a women's-rights, public-policy, and electoral issue, while concentrating on candidate recruitment, legislative campaigns, voter mobilization, and research-backed messaging.
Political action committee · 1993
SBA Pro-Life America Candidate Fund
The affiliated political action committee supports endorsed candidates through campaign contributions and related electoral activity. It has historically concentrated on candidates opposed to abortion and has used demonstrated voting records, public positions, and electoral viability as part of its selection approach.
Research and education · 2011
Charlotte Lozier Institute
Founded in 2011, the Charlotte Lozier Institute functions as SBA Pro-Life America's research and education arm. It publishes policy and scientific material intended to support anti-abortion arguments and has participated in abortion-related legal proceedings and public debates.
Advocacy and fundraising program
Campaign for Life
Campaign for Life is the organization's umbrella public advocacy and fundraising platform, including events, speeches, communications, and political mobilization around anti-abortion candidates and legislation.
Controversies
2024
Retraction of study used in mifepristone litigation
A Charlotte Lozier Institute-associated study about emergency-room visits after medication abortion was retracted after an investigation identified unsupported assumptions, misleading presentation, insufficient scientific rigor, and undisclosed conflicts or organizational affiliations. The study had been cited in a federal lawsuit challenging the FDA's approval of mifepristone.
Dispute over the organization's use of Susan B. Anthony's legacy
The organization presents Susan B. Anthony as a pro-life feminist figure. Historians and the National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House have disputed that interpretation, arguing that Anthony did not develop a documented political position on abortion and that quotations attributed to her have been misidentified or taken out of context.
Marketing campaigns
- 2011Planned Parenthood funding bus tour
United States
SBA List and Live Action toured thirteen congressional districts to praise or criticize representatives over the Pence Amendment and federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Outcome. Planned Parenthood responded with a competing tour, and SBA List purchased broadcast advertising supporting six Republican lawmakers.
- 2011New Hampshire Planned Parenthood funding rally
United States
The organization held a rally supporting the New Hampshire Executive Council's decision to end state funding for Planned Parenthood.
- 2010Votes Have Consequences
United States
A project led by Marilyn Musgrave targeted vulnerable lawmakers whom the organization considered insufficiently anti-abortion, particularly over health-care reform votes.
Outcome. The campaign contributed to the organization's broader 2010 electoral accountability and voter-mobilization efforts.
- 2009Health-care reform abortion-funding campaign
United States
The organization lobbied to prevent abortion coverage in federal health-care reform legislation and supported the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to H.R. 3962.
Outcome. The legislation passed after a disputed executive-order compromise, prompting the organization to condemn lawmakers who supported the final bill.
Brand decisions
2021
Amicus participation in Dobbs litigationOtherBackground
The Supreme Court considered Mississippi's law restricting most abortions after fifteen weeks in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
Action taken
The Charlotte Lozier Institute filed an amicus brief arguing that fetal-pain research and state interests supported the law's constitutionality.
Aftermath
The Supreme Court later held in Dobbs that the Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion.
2011
Creation of Charlotte Lozier InstituteStrategyBackground
The organization sought a dedicated research and education capacity to support its political and legal advocacy.
Action taken
It established the Charlotte Lozier Institute as a research affiliate.
Aftermath
The institute became a recurring source of policy material and litigation-related arguments for the anti-abortion movement.
2010
Withdrawal of Bart Stupak award and electoral supportStrategyBackground
Representative Bart Stupak negotiated an executive-order arrangement with President Obama during the Affordable Care Act debate.
Action taken
SBA List canceled Stupak's planned Defender of Life Award and withdrew support for his defense against a primary challenge.
Aftermath
Stupak retired from Congress rather than seek reelection.
1998
Organization expands support to selected male candidatesStrategyBackground
The group had originally been created primarily to support anti-abortion women candidates.
Action taken
It tested a broader electoral model by endorsing three male anti-abortion candidates.
Aftermath
The pilot demonstrated that the organization would support candidates beyond its original gender-based focus when they met its policy criteria.
1997
Candidate endorsement criteria tightenedStrategyBackground
After mixed early election results, the reorganized nonprofit sought a more disciplined approach to political endorsements.
Action taken
Candidates were required to show an anti-abortion record rather than rely solely on a campaign declaration, and they were expected to have a credible chance of winning.
Aftermath
The rules established the organization's long-term emphasis on electoral viability and demonstrated policy commitment.
Sources2 sources
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