Breaking Ground in the Controversial Landscape: Mildred Fay Jefferson's Powerful Legacy
By: Joshua Prager
"It's part of a pattern that prevents black women from having abortions," Harriet Washington, author of "Medical Apartheid," told me. "Their reproductive health rights are continuously violated, both by law and by societal norms."
This perspective has fueled debates among those advocating for stricter abortion laws, warning that illegal abortions exacerbate racial disparities. In light of the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on abortion, prominent anti-abortion groups have put their diversity to the test, citing the same influential figure: Mildred Fay Jefferson, a prominent anti-abortion figure and the first black woman to earn her medical degree from Harvard. In recent months, she's been celebrated by the National Right to Life Committee, mentioned by the Susan B. Anthony List in an op-ed, and recognized in an anti-abortion guideline named after her: the Mildred Jefferson Protocol.
It's not surprising that, even a decade after her death in 2010, Jefferson remains a symbol of anti-abortion heroism. As a black Methodist, she represented the aspirations of a movement that was, following her election as NRLC president in 1975, predominantly made up of white Catholic men.
Using her position, Jefferson transformed the anti-abortion movement into a political force that fostered Republican opposition to abortion. In response to the NRLC's pressure before the 1976 presidential election, the Republican Party became the first to discuss abortion in their platform.
Four years later, the party elected Jefferson, an ardent anti-abortionist, as their president. California Governor Ronald Reagan, who once supported legal abortion, wrote to her in 1973 following their meeting on a TV show: "You indisputably demonstrated that abortion amounts to the killing of innocent lives."
Jefferson vehemently opposed "all" abortions. In an article for Ebony, she wrote: "One cannot grant individuals the private right to kill, no matter what justification they offer." This position distinguished her from many contemporary anti-abortion activists and her peers. She didn't just condemn the doctors conducting abortions; she also criticized the women who underwent the procedure. "Women who casually manipulate their lives and rely on abortion to avoid complications," she wrote months before Roe, "do not deserve to be called women."
However, Jefferson's life contradicted her words. And she remains largely unknown to the modern anti-abortion movement seeking to advocate for its own rights.
A Remarkable Life and Legacy
Jefferson's story is remarkable. Born in 1927 as an only child to a teacher and pastor, she defied racial segregation by leaving Texas and became the first black woman to earn her medical degree from Harvard in 1951. In 1970, at the age of 43, she left medicine to advocate for anti-abortion causes.
Her performance in the PBS show "The Advocate" a month before the Roe v. Wade decision made her a pro-life celebrity. "I would love to hear from you before your law is passed", wrote Governor Ronald Reagan to her on January 17, 1973, referring to a proposed bill that would legalize abortions up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Two years later, Jefferson was elected as the NRLC's president and turned abortion into a political asset, aiding the Republicans in transforming proposals into laws and legislation. She contributed to expanding the anti-abortion base beyond white Catholic men.
"Do you know what the best strategy for the anti-abortion movement is?", a Republican congressman would tell an anti-abortion lobbyist. "Somebody should pay Dr. Mildred Jefferson to travel the country and fight for unborn lives." Indeed, Jefferson inspired the movement with her conviction that the right to life extended beyond "perfect, privileged, and planned" people.
However, her story wasn't solely driven by faith. Her decision to become an anti-abortion activist was also rooted in stereotypes. Only in 1968, 17 years after her Harvard Medical School graduation, did the American Board of Surgery certify a black woman, Hughenna Gauntlett. When Jefferson began her residency as a surgeon at Boston City Hospital in 1951, her supervisor, a surgeon named A.J.A. Campbell, told her: "You'll have problems... Some doctors and nurses may refuse to work with you because you're a black woman."
Two decades later, Jefferson, who had completed the equivalent of three surgical fellowships, was finally certified in 1972. By then, she had already become an anti-abortion advocate. She was a co-founder of a pro-life organization in Massachusetts in 1970.
Yet, she maintained her desire to become a surgeon and petitioned the hospital's chief surgeon, Richard Egdahl, numerous times to assign her patients. Egdahl later admitted to refusing to do so despite knowing nothing about her.
Jefferson was devastated and left the medical field forever, never publicly discussing why she quit medicine and often misled others by telling them she was still practicing.
Jefferson endured racism throughout her life. As an heir to enslaved ancestors (her cousin revealed this in an interview), she was forbidden from sitting on the balcony of the local theater while watching "Little Orphan Annie" at age five in Texas. Half a century later, she found herself in love with a white sailor named Sean Cunningham, but their marriage was fraught with challenges. "Marriage between different races is legal in Massachusetts, but 'miscegenation' is still a crime in many of the 48 US states," she learned in 1957. Her life was already difficult, her career was in turmoil, and she struggled with mounting debt and childcare demands. Five years later, in 1962, she agreed to marry him, but under one condition.
Jefferson had spoken about self-determination early on, telling the press that ambition was simply "the willingness to let the right things happen." However, she realized her determination could only take her so far. As she told Cunningham and he later shared with me, she came to believe that life was inherently unfair, filled with deceit and "blatant injustice." Consequently, she decided she would never have children again. Cunningham, who shared this information with me, said Jefferson "would have made a wonderful mother."
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Jefferson's decision to remain childless was unusual for several reasons. First, she believed childbirth was the true purpose of womanhood – "it's the essence and the foundation of our existence as female human beings," she later told historian Jennifer Donnelly.
Second, she felt that life itself was an injustice, which sat in stark contrast to her public stance on unconditional abortion prohibition. It's not surprising that Jefferson, whom Judy Brown, the leader of the anti-abortion activists, said, "lied about her inability to conceive children," had private relationships and hiding her desire for motherhood.
These contradictions went unnoticed, making Jefferson a flawed yet genuine symbol of anti-abortion opposition. As Angela Davis pointed out, African women who choose to have abortions often speak more about the "tragic social conditions that prevent them from bringing new life into the world."
Further Reading:
Mildred Fay Jefferson's stance on abortion was uncompromising and resonated deeply within the anti-abortion movement, albeit within the same framework as other anti-abortion activists. Her unwavering conviction in the sanctity of life and her rejection of all abortions, regardless of justification, continued to shape her legacy as an anti-abortion hero even after her death in 2010.
A coalition of prominent anti-abortion groups, including the National Right to Life Committee and the Susan B. Anthony List, have recognized Jefferson's influence and unique historical role by honoring her achievements and her struggle as a black woman in the medical field. The far-reaching impact of Jefferson's pro-life activism and her remarkable journey in the face of racial discrimination continue to be felt within the anti-abortion movement as a whole.
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Mildred Fay Jefferson was a significant figure in the anti-abortion movement in the United States. She was the first African American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and became a prominent advocate for the pro-life cause. Here are her key contributions and significance:
- Medical Career: Jefferson was a gifted doctor who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. She was one of the first women of any color to complete a surgical rotation at Boston's hospital and performed surgeries there as well[1].
- Pro-Life Advocacy: Jefferson became involved in the pro-life movement when she was living in Boston. She was indignant about the American Medical Association's efforts to promote abortion and understood the racial overtones of the anti-abortion movement, which she saw as a eugenics movement aimed at reducing the number of black children[1].
- Influence on Ronald Reagan: Jefferson's advocacy played a crucial role in influencing then-Governor Ronald Reagan to change his stance on abortion. Reagan was so moved by her arguments that he later regretted signing pro-abortion legislation in California. This influence extended to his presidency, where he made judicial nominations that contributed to the gradual undoing of Roe v. Wade[1][2].
- Founding of National Right to Life: Jefferson was instrumental in helping to found the National Right to Life organization, which continues to be a major force in the anti-abortion movement in the United States[1].
Her legacy as a pioneering black woman in medicine and her tireless advocacy for the lives of the unborn have made her a significant figure in American history, particularly within the context of the pro-life movement.
