Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > National Right to Life Committee

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to end legalized ABORTION in the United States. Founded in 1973, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in ROE V. WADE, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S. Ct. 705, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147 (1973), which held that women had a constitutional right to abortion, the NRLC has become the leading antiabortion organization in the United States. It has more than 7 million members, with 3,000 local chapters and 50 state affiliates. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has an annual budget of more than $9 million. The National Right to Life News, a biweekly newsletter, has a circulation of 135,000.

From its inception, the NRLC has sought the passage of a constitutional amendment banning abortion. Though this effort has not been...