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.
