National Right to Life Committee is a leading organization in the movement against legalized abortion in the United States. Members of the organization try to influence Congress and the state legislatures to pass laws restricting access to abortion. The organization also attempts to defeat legislation that would extend abortion rights.
National Right to Life has supported legislation to ban certain late-term abortion procedures and to prohibit the use of federal funds for abortions. In addition, it works to end infanticide (the killing of infants) and euthanasia—that is, intentionally ending the life of someone who is suffering.
National Right to Life collects voluntary contributions from its members and gives the funds to political candidates it favors. It also conducts a number of educational and outreach programs. These programs include National Teens for Life, a movement of young people opposed to abortion.
National Right to Life was founded in 1968. It was incorporated as the National Right to Life Committee in 1973. That year, the Supreme Court of the United States made a landmark ruling in the case Roe v. Wade that states could not forbid abortions during the first three months of pregnancy. The Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in another case in 2022. National Right to Life has headquarters in Washington, D.C., and chapters in all 50 states.
