About
Right to Life
The National Right to Life Committee was founded in 1973 in response
to a United States Supreme Court decision released on January 22 of that
year, legalizing the practice of human abortion in all 50 states,
throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy. Prior to that Supreme
Court case-- Roe vs. Wade -- the abortion debate had been centered in
the legislatures of the states, 17 of which had legalized abortion under
some circumstances and 33 of which had voted to continue to protect
human life from conception.
In June of 1973, a group of pro-life leaders met in Detroit for the
first meeting of a new organization, to be non-sectarian, non- partisan,
and to have its board consist of an elected representative from each of
the 50 states. These first board members included experts in the fields
of science, medicine, medical ethics, constitutional law, and religion.
Since its official beginning at that conference, the National Right to
Life Committee has grown to represent over 3000 chapters in all 50
states and the District of Columbia.
The NRLC Board of Directors now consists of a director from each state--
elected to fill the position by the state group-- as well as an
internally elected nine- member executive committee and officers, and
three "at-large" board positions. NRLC also publishes a monthly
newspaper, the National Right to Life News, and has an internal
Political Action Committee and Educational Trust Fund.
The National Right to Life Committee has been instrumental in achieving
a number of legislative reforms at the national level, including a ban
on non-therapeutic experimentation of unborn and newborn babies, a
federal conscience clause guaranteeing medical personnel the right to
refuse to participate in abortion procedures, and various amendments to
appropriations bills which prohibit (or limit) the use of federal funds
to subsidize or promote abortions in the United States and overseas.
The ultimate goal of the National Right to Life Committee is to restore
legal protection to innocent human life. The primary interest of the
National Right to Life Committee and its members has been the abortion
controversy; however, it is also concerned with related matters of
medical ethics which relate to the right to life issues of euthanasia
and infanticide.