Mandi Ancalle
Policy Advisor, Office for Civil Rights
Mandi D. Ancalle (Campbell) is an attorney who has served in senior roles at Liberty Counsel and Family Research Council, both designated hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. She has used these platforms to espouse her anti-LGBTQ views. While at FRC, Ancalle worked as a lobbyist on issues such as defunding Planned Parenthood, advancing anti-LGBTQ policies, school vouchers, and repealing Obamacare.

HOW THEIR ROLE AFFECTS ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
Ancalle started working in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a contractor, a position she held since at least May 2018. Ancalle was a contractor through at least October 2018. As demonstrated by FOIA records responses obtained by Equity Forward, Ancalle has worked on efforts within OCR to support discriminatory behavior in health care.
OCR is charged with enforcing anti-discrimination laws, health privacy laws, and conscience laws. The Washington Post reported that the Office for Civil Rights under Trump “has been greatly strengthening and expanding protections for health care providers who have religious- or conscience-based objections to procedures such as abortion.” It went on to say that “the makeover appears radical, one that critics worry will jeopardize the care of pregnant women and transgender individuals, as well as others who could be denied certain procedures.”
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT OF NOTE
Government Affairs General Counsel, Family Research Council, 2015 – 2018
- Ancalle became a registered lobbyist in conjunction with this position in 2015.
Adjunct Professor, Liberty University School of Law, 2012
Director of Public Policy, Liberty Counsel Action (LCA), “a law and policy organization that provides education and advocacy regarding religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, the family, responsible government, national security, and support for Israel at the federal, state, and local levels,” 2011 – 2012
Legal Director, Liberty Center for Law and Policy (LCLP), 2009 – 2012
Liberty Counsel, a non-profit Christian ministry that “provides pro bono legal assistance in the areas of religious liberty, the sanctity of human life and the family”:
- Constitutional Law Attorney, 2009
Litigation Counsel, 2013
TIES TO OTHER ANTI-CHOICE EXTREMISTS
Shannon Royce:
Ancalle worked at Family Research Council at the same time as Shannon Royce, Director of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives within HHS. Royce is an inactive attorney with a long career of anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ policy work, including her promotion of conversion therapy. She has often pushed her extremist views under the guise of religious freedom. LifeSite News wrote that “Royce’s resume reads like a Who’s Who of the pro-family, pro-life movement in the nation’s capital [sic].”
Arina Grossu:
Ancalle worked with Arina Grossu at the Family Research Council and now works with her at the Office for Civil Rights. Grossu has been an advocate for anti-abortion groups since she was in high school. She worked as director of the Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, in which she focused on anti-abortion issues.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ancalle Has Said That She Is Upset About Evolution Being Taught In Public Schools — And That It Was A Driving Factor Of Her Legal Career. “I’m upset that humanist evolution is being taught in public schools, without any mention of alternatives to evolutionary theory, which inquisitive minds might consider and evaluate in a marketplace of ideas. This injustice was partly responsible for my decision to attend law school, and later to join Liberty Counsel, where I now defend religious liberty in the public square.” [Augusta Chronicle, 5/26/12]
Ancalle Authored An Anti-Abortion Article Published In The Liberty University Law Review In December 2012 In Which She Argued That Returning To “A Culture Of Life” In The U.S. Would Need To Start With Changes To Laws. “For public sentiment to change, laws that implicitly and explicitly discourage abortion, protect women and unborn children, and challenge Supreme Court precedent must educate people to revive a culture of life.” [Liberty University Law Review, December 2012].
THE WHOLE STORY
Ancalle Has Used Her Legal Career To Deny Rights To LGBTQ Americans
Ancalle Worked In Various Legal Organizations Associated With Liberty University From Which She Espoused Far Right, Anti-LGBTQ Views
Ancalle (Then Campbell) Worked In Liberty University-Associated Organizations For Years. “Assuming her new role as Litigation Counsel for Liberty Counsel, Campbell is no stranger to the legal world. Upon graduation in 2009, Mandi began working with Liberty Counsel, as a constitutional law attorney, and then in 2009, began her work with the Liberty Center for Law and Policy, only to add the role Director of Public Policy for Liberty Counsel Action in 2011. Campbell also taught as an adjunct professor for Liberty Law in the spring of 2012.” [Liberty.edu, 4/3/13]
- LCA Is “A Law And Policy Organization That Provides Education And Advocacy Regarding Religious Freedom, The Sanctity Of Human Life, The Family, Responsible Government, National Security, And Support For Israel At The Federal, State, And Local Levels.” [LCA website, accessed 6/26/18].
In Her Role As Liberty Litigation Counsel, She Was Particularly Active In Advocating Against Same-Sex Marriage And Co-Authored Amicus Briefs Filed In At Least Three Federal Lawsuits On The Topic
- Liberty Counsel Argued Against “Same-Sex ‘Marriage’.” Liberty Counsel filed an Amicus Brief in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Sevcik v. Sandoval asking the court to uphold the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Beverly Sevcik, et al., v. Brian Sandoval, et al., case # 12-17668, Amicus Brief of Liberty Counsel in Support of Defendants-Appellees and Intervenors-Appellees, filed 1/28/14]
- Liberty Counsel Falsely Argued That Defining Marriage As Between A Man And A Woman Does Not Discriminate Against LGBTQ People. “Defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman does not deprive homosexuals of a fundamental right.” [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Timothy B. Bostic, et al., v. George E. Schaefer, III, et al., case # 14-1167, Amicus Brief of Liberty Counsel Supporting Defendant-Appellant, filed 4/4/14.]
- Liberty Counsel Claimed That Heterosexual Couples Make Better Parents. “They argue that permitting same-sex marriage will seriously undermine this message, and contend that the institution of opposite-sex marriage is important because it encourages people who procreate to be responsible parents, and because opposite-sex parents are better for children than same-sex parents.” [U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Susan Latta, et al., v. C.L. Otter, et al., case # 14-35420, Opinion, filed 10/7/14.]
In May 2012, On Behalf Of LCA, Ancalle Opposed A California Bill That Would Ban Gay Conversion Therapy. “Mandi Campbell, Liberty Counsel Action Director of Public Policy, said, ‘If SB 1172 passes, the hands of psychotherapists will be tied and adults struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction will be discouraged from seeking help. What is even more problematic is that the bill prohibits minors from receiving change therapy, even when their parents consent. This would usurp parents’ rights to determine the upbringing and education of their children, a right affirmed by the Supreme Court. Reparative therapy, change therapy, works,’ Campbell said. ‘I know people who have benefited from the therapy that the California Legislature is restricting,’ she added. [Political Christian, 5/18/12]
Ancalle: Homosexuals Should Not Be Able To Enjoy The Benefits Of Marriage Because As A Rule They Do Not Commit To Permanent And Exclusive Relationships. “ThinkProgress reached out to the Liberty Counsel Friday morning for clarification as to how maintaining the status quo for marriage might impact the health of people who identify as gay, lesbian, and bisexual. Mandi Campbell, a litigator for the organization, explained that in general, homosexuals cannot — or at least do not — commit to relationships that are both exclusive and permanent. Thus, they cannot enjoy the benefits of marriage. The government’s actions communicate what is “right and wrong” and “good and bad,” and so because of the health consequences associated with gay sex, it should not encourage or endorse that behavior. Campbell confirmed that the Liberty Counsel believes that even though banning same-sex marriage will not change the number of people who identify as gay, it will discourage people from engaging in same-sex sexual behavior.” [Think Progress, 5/16/14]
Ancalle’s Work At The Family Research Council Again Focused On LGBTQ Discrimination
At FRC, Ancalle Authored A Blog Post Calling Caitlyn Jenner “Confused” And Comparing Her To Rachel Dolezal, The Caucasian Woman Who Posed As An African-American And Obtained A Senior Post At The NAACP. “Why, then, does the world applaud Bruce Jenner for identifying as a woman? Bruce Jenner is just as confused as Rachel Dolezal, the color of one’s skin and the sex of an individual both being immutable characteristics. However, Dolezal and Jenner have been treated differently. While the world has rejected Dolezal and her claims, it has embraced Bruce Jenner. And, though Shupping’s identity disorder is different from that of Jenner, both are mutilating and manipulating their bodies in pursuit of how they identify and view themselves; but, this self-view is obviously not objective.” [FRC.org, 11/4/15]
Ancalle Praised President Trump’s July 2017 Announcement That He Would Bar Transgender People From The Military. “The position that it would have put women in to have to share birthing and bathing facilities with anatomical and biological men, that’s really what is unfair. It’s about the fairness of the policy as a whole, it’s about ensuring the military doesn’t incur these distractions and these high costs.” [VOA, 7/27/17]