Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Litigation Counsel
Carolyn McDonnell serves as Litigation Counsel at Americans United for Life. She focuses on amicus briefs, litigation reports, and federal administrative comments. Carolyn has expertise in questions involving federal jurisdiction, abortion informed consent, chemical abortion, conscience rights, and assisted suicide.
In line with her expertise, Carolyn authored scholarship on “Mail-Order Abortion Rules: Text, Context, and History of the Comstock Act’s Restrictions on Mailing Abortifacient Matter,” published in the Ave Maria Law Review, and co-authored an article, “The States’ Response to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” published in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy. She wrote a groundbreaking policy report on the legal status and policy implications of legalizing assisted suicide in the United States, entitled “A Time to Choose: Suicide Assistance or Suicide Prevention?”.
Carolyn is admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin as well as the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota) where she worked as a research assistant to Professor Teresa Collett. During law school, Carolyn also served as a senior editor on the Journal of Law and Public Policy, participated in a religious liberty appellate clinic, and competed interscholastically in mock trial.
Carolyn holds a Master of Arts in Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. She studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico and interned for then-Congressman Sean Duffy (WI-07).
Outside of work, Carolyn is a bibliophile, outdoors enthusiast, and avid tabletop and video gamer.
Carolyn's Archives
AUL Asks Federal Government to Rescind Unlawful Abortion-Accommodation Mandate in Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
July 23, 2026 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
AUL’s 2026 Life Litigation Report
July 7, 2026 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Vindicating Pregnancy Centers’ First Amendment Rights in Federal Court
May 1, 2026 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Debrief of the Supreme Court Oral Argument in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin
December 15, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
AUL’s 2025 Q3 Life Litigation Report
November 17, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
2025 Update: The Latest Round of Planned Parenthood Defunding in United States ex rel. Doe v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
October 16, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic: Defunding Abortion Businesses’ Medicaid Dollars
July 3, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
The States’ Response to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
June 25, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
2025 Q2 Life Litigation Report
June 17, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Planned Parenthood Attempted to Push Back South Carolina’s Heartbeat Law and Lost
May 15, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Americans United for Life Calls on Trump Administration to Rescind Regulations That Expand Abortion “Rights”
May 13, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Debrief of the Supreme Court Oral Argument in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic
April 14, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
The Inside Scoop on South Carolina’s Stance on Defunding Planned Parenthood
April 1, 2025 Alison Centofante and Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
AUL’s 2024 Q4 Life Litigation Report
January 31, 2025 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
Supreme Court to Hear Planned Parenthood Defunding Case
December 20, 2024 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.
AUL’s 2024 Q3 Life Litigation Report
October 23, 2024 Carolyn McDonnell, J.D.