Americans United for Life

AUL was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1971, two years prior to the nationwide legalization of abortion following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. The organization's first chairman of the board was Unitarian minister and then-Hollis Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School, George Huntston Williams. Initially the group was involved in the intellectual debate surrounding abortion, but in 1975 the founders reorganized it into a legal organization. One of the group's early areas of focus was on building a case to persuade the Supreme Court to overturn its 1973 ruling. In 1987 the group outlined their plan to overturn Roe v. Wade in a book titled Abortion and the Constitution: Reversing Roe v. Wade Through the Courts. AUL was inspired by efforts of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in its strategy to impact legislation. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization and public-interest law firm, with a specific interest in anti-abortion legislation. AUL's areas of legal interest include abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, stem cell research, and human cloning.

During the first half of the 1970s, Eugene Diamond of AUL argued that abortion was dangerous to women's health. Charles Rice, a professor at Fordham Law School, who was active in the AUL argued that "birth control fever" had infected American society. Early on, the organization did not oppose all forms of abortion. Some within the organization also supported a legal right to contraceptives. When the organization did not decide to condemn all forms of abortion, a number of members left and formed the United States Coalition for Life (USCL).

Lobbying and litigation

AUL has supported bills to reduce the prevalence of abortion in the United States, including the Pregnant Women Support Act by United States Representative Lincoln Davis, which was introduced in 2006. In 1980, AUL played a key role in the Harris v. McRae decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the Hyde Amendment restricting federal funding of Medicaid abortions only to cases of life endangerment (and, since 1994, rape or incest) and determined that states participating in Medicaid were not required to fund medically necessary abortions for which federal reimbursement was unavailable as a result of the Hyde Amendment. Professor Victor Rosenblum, a board member of AUL, argued the case before the Supreme Court and the AUL Legal Defense Fund represented the amendment's chief sponsor Rep. Henry Hyde and others.

The group has also been involved in legislative and judicial actions to prevent late-term abortions. Between 1997 and 2000, AUL worked with state attorneys general across the U.S. on partial birth abortion legislation. The group supported the passage of legislation in Virginia, banning a late-term abortion procedure. In 2006, the organization supported legislation that was proposed in 21 states, which aimed to require that doctors who perform late-term abortions inform their patients that the fetus might feel pain during the procedure. AUL vice president Daniel McConchie stated that the aim of the proposals was "humanizing the unborn". In 2007, the organization was involved in a Supreme Court case in which it helped to uphold the 2003 federal ban on partial-birth abortions.

Supreme Court appointments

The organization has voiced opposition against Supreme Court justice appointments for judges who support abortion rights, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. In 2009, the organization was vocal in opposition of the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, arguing that she had a record of pro-abortion activism. AUL provided testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Congressional hearings to decide whether Sotomayor should be confirmed, as well as for then-Solicitor General Elena Kagan.