Charles A. “Chuck” Donovan
Strategic AdviserCharles A. “Chuck” Donovan is strategic adviser at the Charlotte Lozier Institute. He served as legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee from 1978-1981, worked as a senior writer for President Reagan until1989, helped to lead the Family Research Council for nearly two decades and served as Senior Fellow in Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation. He is the founder and was president (2011-2024) of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research and education arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Chuck has played key roles in the development of federal and state policy regarding public financing of abortion, compassionate alternatives to abortion, the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, rights of conscience, and a wide array of other life and family issues.
Donovan is the author or co-author of books and monographs on family topics, including Blessed Are the Barren (1991), on the social policy of Planned Parenthood. Appearances on national radio and television include CNN’s Inside Politics and ABC’s Nightline as well as programs on FOX, BBC, NPR, the Voice of America, EWTN and CBN. His articles and commentaries have been published in dozens of newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, San Diego Union and National Catholic Register, and in magazines such as Reader’s Digest, The Weekly Standard, American Legion Magazine, World Magazine, American Library Journal, Crisis, and Focus on the Family’s Citizen. He has published in the peer-reviewed journals Linacre Quarterly and the Open Journal of Preventive Medicine. He has spoken to audiences across the United States and in Venezuela and the United Kingdom.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Donovan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the University of Notre Dame.
Videos
Research Authored
Planned Parenthood: “Irreplaceable” and “Lifesaving”?
In its most recent annual report, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America makes two fundamental claims, both of which are directly relevant to the question involving continued government funding for its services, approximately $555 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016.
Improving Maternal Mortality: Comprehensive Reporting for All Pregnancy Outcomes
To demonstrate the impact of inadequate standardization and population coverage on the ability to measure and improve maternal mortality in the United States.
Heritage Foundation “Index of Culture and Opportunity”: Life Is on the Right Track
On July 20, 2017, The Heritage Foundation published the fourth installment of its annual Index of Culture and Opportunity (“Index”). The Index is an exercise in civil society that tracks and analyzes data that affects freedom and opportunity.
Checking Politifact on Women’s Alternatives to Planned Parenthood
Politifact-checks are almost never the last word, and the latest one from Politifact Georgia criticizing Congressman Barry Loudermilk for his assessment of women’s real healthcare alternatives to Planned Parenthood is a case in point.
Pregnancy Help Centers: A Consensus Service to Women and Children
In recent years, advocates of legal abortion have turned their attention to limiting or interfering with the work of pregnancy help centers (PHCs), typically nonprofit groups that offer a range of free or heavily discounted services to women and girls who think they may be pregnant.
Transcript of Remarks of Chuck Donovan on the Release of “Abortion Worldwide Report”
On January 25, Charlotte Lozier Institute President Chuck Donovan presented opening remarks* at the Family Research Council during an event launching the major report entitled, “Abortion Worldwide Report: 100 Countries, 1 Century, 1 Billion Babies.”
Restoring Christ-centered medicine through public policy changes centered around subsidiarity and the doctor–patient relationship
Many Catholic leaders supported passage of legislation designed to achieve the humanitarian goal of universal or near-universal health coverage. These leaders could not imagine that the resulting law would lead to a severe assault on the practice of Christ-centered medicine.