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Mission and Biographies
Nikolas T. Nikas, Esq.
President and General Counsel
Nikolas T. Nikas, Esq. is President and General Counsel of the Bioethics Defense Fund. Nikas has directed national legal strategy on the issues of human cloning/embryonic stem cell research, abortion and end-of-life issues since 1992. His areas of expertise include legislation, litigation and public education.
Nikas impacts legislative strategy by drafting life-protective model legislation and by consulting with legislators in all 50 states and Congress. He also testifies in legislative committees on the constitutionality of bioethics legislation.
Nikas leads bioethics litigation efforts by providing strategic counsel to state attorneys general and by directly litigating federal court challenges to enacted legislation when appointed by state officials. Nikas has served as a special assistant attorney general for the state of Arizona in its partial-birth abortion litigation, and as special deputy Maricopa County attorney in the currently pending constitutional challenge to Arizona’s abortion clinic regulation law.
In 2000, Nikas organized and participated in the oral argument preparation for Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg in the U.S. Supreme Court partial-birth abortion case, Carhart v. Stenberg, in which Nikas also filed an amicus curiae brief. Nikas consults with members and legal staff of the President’s Council on Bioethics in Washington, D.C., and has testified before the U.S. Senate on abortion and First Amendment rights.
Nikas is a dynamic speaker, having lectured on the full range of bioethics topics at law schools, legal and medical conferences and civic organizations. He has lectured internationally on the issue of health care rights of conscience, including several addresses at the Rome conference of the International Catholic Medical Association.
Before dedicating his law practice to bioethics issues, Nikas was associated with two of the largest firms in Arizona, focusing on civil litigation in Arizona federal and state courts.
Nikas received his B.A. (1979) in government and international relations, and his M.A. (1981) in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He received his juris doctor, magna cum laude, in 1986 from Arizona State University College of Law, where he graduated in the top five percent of his class. He was awarded the Order of the Coif and served as an articles editor of the Arizona State Law Journal.
Nikas lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife and their five children.
Dorinda C. Bordlee, Esq.
Executive Director, Senior Counsel
Dorinda C. Bordlee, Esq. is Executive Director and Senior Counsel of Bioethics Defense Fund, a bioethics law and policy organization that advocates for human rights from beginning to end. She has dedicated her law practice to sanctity of life constitutional issues since 1994.
Dorinda's expertise is in the public policy realm, having drafted legislation and user friendly education pieces for dozens of States on the full range of bioethics issues including human cloning, destructive human embryo research, abortion regulation/women's health and end-of-life.
Bordlee also has wide-ranging litigation and appellate advocacy experience defending the constitutionality of life issue laws in U.S. federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.
Dorinda is the author of a chapter on abortion alternatives in the 2004 book entitled The Cost of Choice, and she has published articles and opinion pieces on the topics of authentic feminism, embryo adoption, and human cloning in national publications including National Review Online, the New York Times, and the Washington Times, and has appeared on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC and C-Span. Her speaking engagements range from university and law schools to national and international legal and medical conferences
Dorinda received her B.A. in Finance, summa cum laude (1987), and Juris Doctor (1990) from Loyola University, New Orleans. She lives in New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and their four children.
James Hirsen, Esq.
Of Counsel
James Hirsen is a New York Times best selling author, commentator, news analyst and law professor.
Sought after for his expertise on current events and cultural matters, and most recently his experience in bioethics policy involving California’s Prop 71, Hirsen has appeared on the O’Reilly Factor, Weekend Live with Tony Snow, Scarborough Country, CNN’s People in the News, Fox and Friends, Hardball with Chris Matthews, the BBC, ABC’s Politically Incorrect, CNN's Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff and numerous other television programs.
Hirsen’s ideas have been quoted in major publications including the Washington Times, the Weekly Standard, the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition, he hosts his own radio program on the Cable Radio Network, which reaches millions of households via cable television systems, PAX-TV, satellite users, Internet broadcasting and the Langer Broadcasting Network, a 100-station radio network headquartered in Boston.
Hirsen is a pundit for NewsMax.com and author of the popular weekly column, “The Left Coast Report,” where he takes a humorous poke at the politics of Hollywood. He is the author of the New York Times best-selling book, Tales from the Left Coast: True Stories of Hollywood Stars and Their Outrageous Politics.
Hirsen teaches law at both Trinity Law School and Biola University in Southern California. He is admitted to practice in the California and Washington, D.C. Bar Associations, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Before setting his sights on the legal, communications and publishing worlds, Hirsen worked as a professional musician. He participated in numerous studio recordings, film scores and performance events, and for a number of years was keyboardist for one of the most legendary groups of all times, the Temptations.
James Hirsen and his wife currently reside in Newport Beach, California.
Cindy M. Northon, Esq.
Legal Counsel
Cindy M. Northon, Esq. serves as Legal Counsel and Media Specialist. Prior to joining the Bioethics Defense Fund, Cindy worked as a publicist in New York City, New York and Nashville, Tennessee.
While in law school, Cindy served as Vice President of the Moot Court Board, Publicist for Lex Vitae and Secretary of the Women's Law Association. Cindy competed as part of the Michigan Moot Court Championship team in 2003, and was awarded the St. Catherine of Alexandria Award for excellence in oral advocacy. She was on the Law School Dean's List and was a recipient of a Dean's Scholarship.
Ms. Northon worked as an extern with the in-house counsel of IMG Sports Management, Cleveland, Ohio and as a summer associate with the law firm of Miller, Johnson, Snell and Cummisky, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Cindy is a graduate of Boston College (B.S. 1995) and of Ave Maria School of Law (J.D 2004). She lives in Canton, Michigan with her husband and son.
Monique Colon Toso
Public Relations & Education
 Monique Colon Toso manages the public relations and education efforts of
Bioethics Defense Fund. Monique also handles event planning as BDF's liason with public policy organizations, legislators and civic groups seeking bioethics policy advice and briefing seminars.
An educator by training, Monique has led a successful educational effort called "Proudly Pro-Life Week" in over two dozen New Orleans elementary schools that has been exported to schools around the nation. The educational program is a project of "Parents for Life," which Monique directs for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Monique lives in New Orleans, Louisiana with her husband and two daughters.
BDF Board of Directors*
Anthony J. Bordlee
State Farm Insurance
Kevin "Seamus" Hasson, Esq.
The Becket Fund
David J. Lukinovich, Esq.
Lukinovich Law
*Board members are in their individual capacity - business/organization names for identification only.
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