Americans United for Life (AUL) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to protect the human right to life through legal advocacy, legislative efforts, and education. AUL supports the rights of vulnerable individuals and focuses on opposing abortion and assisted suicide. ¹

AUL was founded in 1971 and claims to be the first national pro-life advocacy organization. ²

Activities

Founded in 1971 as the first national pro-life organization, Americans United for Life continues to advocate for policies that support the human right to life. ³ In addition to supporting the reversal of Roe v. Wade, AUF advocates for an Abortion Drug “Right to Know” Law that would give consumers information on the risks and side effects of unrestricted and potentially dangerous mail-order abortion drugs. ⁴

Americans United for Life advocates for freedom of conscience, as it is embodied in the First Amendment. To this end, AUF supports protecting healthcare providers’ conscience rights to refuse to participate in abortions. AUF claims that providers, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, should not be forced by law to perform abortions or fill abortion-inducing prescriptions. ⁵

Americans United for Life opposes legalizing assisted suicide, pointing out that suicide is not only a crime, but that the traditional Hippocratic Oath insists that doctors and other medical providers “do no harm.” AUL claims that allowing or compelling doctors to end patients’ lives drastically alters the doctor-patient relationship and that legalizing assisted suicide may also lead to the acceptance of euthanasia, leading to an increase in doctors unwillingly ending the lives of patients. ⁶

Each year, Americans United for Life publishes its model legislation, Defending Life, to be used as a guide by lawmakers and policy advocates to further protect the human right to life. AUL gives each state a report card, ranks them on its “Life List,” and includes state policy recommendations for supporting AUL’s Infants’ Protection Project, Women’s Protection Project, and Patients’ Protection Project. Americans United for Life also gives policy recommendations for state-specific policies regarding abortion, bioethics, and end-of-life issues. ⁷

Funding and Associations

Americans United for Life is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While AUL does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation ($1 million in 2013), ⁸ Donors Capital Fund ($500,000 in 2008), ⁹ and the National Christian Charitable Foundation ($108,100 in 2019). ¹⁰

Americans United for Life is a former affiliate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ¹¹

Senior Staff

Catherine Glen Foster is the president and CEO of Americans United for Life. Foster formerly worked as litigation counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom and as the executive director of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA. Foster sits on the boards of And Then There Were None; the Washington, D.C. chapter of Christian Legal Society; Rockville Women’s Center; and the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. Foster is a senior fellow in legal policy at the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a fellow at the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding. ¹²

Katie Glenn works as government affairs counsel at AUL and formerly worked as director of external relations at the 1st Amendment Partnership. ¹³

Peter Hinman is the director of donor relations at AUL. Hinman formerly worked as the manager of the President’s Club at the Heritage Foundation and a development assistant at the Bill of Rights Institute. ¹⁴

Tom Shakely is the chief engagement officer at AUL and a research fellow at Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. Shakely formerly sat on the board of the Pro-Life Union of Greater Philadelphia and is a former fellow at the National Review Institute and the Leonine Forum. ¹⁵

Board of Directors

Alfonso Aquilar is the secretary of the board of AUL and the president of both the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles and the International Human Rights Group. Aguilar sits on the advisory board of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and on the International Advisory Task Force of Alliance Defending Freedom. ¹⁶

Teri Goudie is a former journalist for ABC News. ¹⁷

Mark Miller works as general counsel and interim chief of staff for Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD) and is the Unborn Child Advocate for the Governor’s Office. ¹⁸

Other members of the board include Jay Cunningham, chair; Patrick Hofer, vice-chair; Kenneth Hansen, treasurer; and Nathan Hancock. ¹⁹

1. “Press Kit.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/press-kit/.
2. “Press Kit.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/press-kit/.
3. “Press Kit.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/press-kit/.
4. “Abortion Drug ‘Right to Know’ Laws.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/abortion-drug-right-to-know-laws/.
5. “Pro-Life Advocacy.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/advocacy/.
6. “Pro-Life Advocacy.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/advocacy/.
7. “Defending Life 2021.” Americans United for Life, 2021. Accessed January 24, 2022. https://aul.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Defending-Life-2021.pdf.
8. Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2013, Part XV, Line 3a.
9. Donors Capital Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2008, Schedule I, Part II.
10. ^[1] National Christian Charitable Foundation Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
11. “Directory.” State Policy Network, 2016. Archived from the original March 28, 2016. Accessed January 19, 2022. http://web.archive.org/web/20160328121012/http://www.spn.org/directory/char.A/organizations.asp.
12. “Catherine Glenn Foster, M.A., J.D.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://aul.org/author/catherineglennfoster/.
13. “Katie Glenn.” LinkedIn, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-glenn-294ba939/.
14. “Peter Hinman.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://aul.org/author/peterhinmanaul/.
15. “Tom Shakely, M.S.” Americans United for Life. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://aul.org/author/tomshakelyaul/.
16. “Principal.” Latino Partnership, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2022. http://latinopartnership.org/principal/.
17. “About.” Goudie Media Services, 2015. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://www.goudiemedia.com/about.
18. “Governor’s Office Staff.” South Dakota Governor, 2022. Accessed January 19, 2022. https://governor.sd.gov/office/staff.aspx.
19.  Americans United for Life Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2020, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.