Clarke Forsythe serves as Senior Counsel at Americans United for Life and is author of Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade, published by Encounter Books in 2013. Abuse of Discretion has been favorably reviewed in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, First Things, World Magazine, National Review, and other journals. Jeffrey Rosen, President of the National Constitution Center, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “Abuse of Discretion provides a cautionary tale about the political and constitutional hazards of unnecessarily broad Supreme Court decisions.”
Forsythe has argued cases before federal and state courts and has testified before Congress and state legislatures. He is also a prolific writer on pro-life policy issues, having published more than 19 law review articles and book chapters, as well as articles in First Things, the Wall Street Journal, and National Review. Other leading newspapers that have published his articles or quoted him include the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Washington Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal. His more than three decades of service to AUL since 1985 include serving for six years as Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing our nationwide litigation and legislation strategy, and serving as President for ten years.
His articles include “A Road Map Through the Supreme Court’s Back Alley” published in the Villanova Law Review and “Roe v. Wade and the Legal Implications of State Constitutional ‘Personhood’ Amendments,” published in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy.
His first book, Politics for the Greatest Good: The Case for Prudence in the Public Square, which draws on lessons in political prudence from Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Lincoln and Wilberforce, was published by InterVarsity Press in 2009. First Things called it “an essential book for lawmakers and all participants in the ongoing culture wars.”
Clarke has a B.A. in Political Science from Allegheny College, a law degree from Valparaiso University School of Law, and an M.A. in Bioethics from Trinity International University (2006), where he is an adjunct professor of bioethics.
Featured Book Reviews & Interviews
- Wall Street Journal: Book Review: ‘Abuse of Discretion’ by Clarke D. Forsythe
- The Washington Times: BOOK REVIEW: ‘Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v Wade’
- National Review Online: Clarke Forsythe’s New Chronicle of Roe v. Wade
- National Review Online: The Road to Roe
- Chicago Tribune: New book details dangers of abortion
- TownHall.com: The Ugly, Unknown Story Behind Roe v. Wade
- The Weekly Standard: Abortion Nation
- Family Research Council: The Battle for Life Continues, Regardless of Outcomes
- American Family Radio: Interview with Brian Fischer
- Janet Mefferd: Interview with Janet Mefferd
- The Daily Beast: Debating The Abortion Wars
- PJ Media: Expert Warns: Obamacare Stealthily Funds Up to 115,000 Abortions Per Year
- Coffee & Markets: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade
- Live Action News: Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade
- The Christian Post: Roe vs Wade Decided Without Factual Evidence, Author Finds
- The Catholic World Report: Roe v. Wade: The History and the Truth
- LifeNews: Roe v. Wade Was an “Abuse of Discretion,” Exercise in Raw Judicial Power
- Mere Orthodoxy: Book Review—Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade