Mildred Jefferson, anti-abortion activist, dies at 84

Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and a nationally recognized leader of the anti-abortion movement, died Friday in Cambridge, Mass. She was 84.

Anne Fox, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said Jefferson died after a recent illness.

Jefferson helped establish the National Right to Life Committee and was its at-large director when she died. She previously had served as the organization's president.

Jefferson was born in Pittsburg, Texas, in 1926, the daughter of a schoolteacher and a minister. She graduated from Texas College in Tyler and earned a master's degree from Tufts University in Medford, Mass.

Jefferson also had taught as an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Boston University Medical School.

-- Associated Press

Comments

[Joe]

I have had the privilege of knowing Dr. Jefferson for a large part of my life and she is one of the smartest, most optimistic and unyielding people I know. She always had a hopeful attitude that would be very encouraging.

She is a true source of inspiration, a very humble person, and leaves a very large pair of shoes to fill. However, her legacy will live, others will follow in her steps, and, someday, she will finally have rest because she always did the right thing.

[Dana]

The LAT could not permit themselves to use the more accurate but certainly politically incorrect descriptor of Dr. Jefferson - a "pro-life activist" but instead, even in her obituary, are compelled to throw out the convenient political tag of "anti-abortion activist". Shame on the spinelessness of the LAT - even in the death of a great and amazing woman you submit to your p.c. betters.

[momsaid]

Very little coverage for such a great lady. She remembered the early efforts of eugenicists like Margaret Sanger to eradicate 'undesirables' and minorities. Abortion clinics still target black communities more than any other. May she rest in peace, and may her cause succeed.

[Father Frank Pavone]

Dr Mildred Jefferson was a constant inspiration to me both before and after I became National Director of Priests for Life. In recent years, I especially enjoyed talking with her about the history of the movement and the strategies for the future. She always spoke about the movement with a fresh enthusiasm, vision, and readiness to carry out the work. She did not carry her many years of service as a burden, but as a source of strength! May we all drink of that same spirit!

Moreover, her passing should remind us of our duty to reflect on and record the history of our movement, and pass it on to the younger generations of pro-life activists. Those who have brought the pro-life movement to where it is now will not be with us forever, and their wisdom is a treasure which we should explore while we still have the opportunity to do so.