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Anne Nicol Gaylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anne Nicol November 25, 1926 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Occupation(s) | Administrator, Women's Medical Fund; President Emerita, Freedom From Religion Foundation |
| Known for | founding the Freedom From Religion Foundation |
Anne Nicol Gaylor (born November 25, 1926) is an American atheist and reproductive rights advocate. She co-founded the Freedom from Religion Foundation and an abortion fund for Wisconsin women. She wrote the book Abortion Is a Blessing and edited The World Famous Atheist Cookbook. In 1985 Gaylor received the Humanist Heroine Award from the American Humanist Association, and in 2007 she was given the Tiller Award by NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Biography
editAnne Nicol was born to Jason and Lucy Sowle Nicol on November 25, 1926, near Tomah, Wisconsin.[1] Her mother, who died when Anne was two years old, was descended from George Sowle, a passenger on the Mayflower. Anne graduated high school at age 16 and went on to earn an English degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madisonin May 1949. She married Paul Gaylor in that year as well, and they had four children: Andy, Annie Laurie, Ian, Paul, and Jamie.[2][1]
Gaylor started the first private employment agency in Madison, Wisconsin, which she sold in 1966. She then became editor of the Middleton Times-Tribune.[2]
Her husband Paul died of brain cancer in 2011, and she moved into a retirement home outside of Madison in 2012.[3]
Abortion advocacy
editIn 1967, while editor of the Times-Tribune, Gaylor wrote an editorial calling for legalized abortion in Wisconsin. She later joined the Association for the Study of Abortion, the Wisconsin Committee to Legalize Abortion, and Zero Population Growth. In 1970 first-trimester abortions were legalized in Wisconsin, and she began the Zero Population Growth Referral Service to refer women to abortion providers. However, there were still few doctors who provided abortions in the state, so Gaylor often referred women to Mexico and New York.[3][4] She also served on the Board of Directors of NARAL, now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America.[1]
Gaylor, along with University of Wisconsin chemistry professor Robert West, founded the Women's Medical Fund to expand the services provided by the ZPG Referral Service. The organization was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1976. It provides small grants (on average about $200) to women who are unable to pay the full costs of their abortions. Funding comes from individual donors and foundation grants. In the past the Fund advertised its services, but now referrals come directly from abortion clinics. The organization is run entirely by volunteers, with no paid staff, and Gaylor answers many of the referral calls herself. It has paid out nearly $3,000,000 to abortion providers on behalf of patients.[3] In 2009 the organization paid out $162,202 to its clients, and Gaylor took about 800 phone calls.[5] By 2010, Gaylor had written checks to help pay for 18,986 abortions.[5]
Gaylor wrote the book Abortion Is a Blessing in 1975. The book argues for liberalization of abortion laws and details her experiences advocating for reproductive rights. It is currently out of print, but the full text is available online.[6]
Freedom From Religion Foundation
edit
While working on abortion rights issues, Gaylor felt the need to address what she saw as the root cause of women's oppression: religion. She felt that the existing women's rights organizations were not confronting this issue, so she founded the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) in 1976, along with her daughter Annie Laurie Gaylor and the late John Sontarck. She served as the president and executive director until her retirement in 2005. The group is currently headed by her daughter, Annie Laurie Gaylor, and son-in-law, Dan Barker. She currently works as a consultant for the FFRF and holds the position of president emerita. While she was president the group grew from three to over 19,000 members in all 50 U.S. states and Canada.[2]
FFRF is a nonprofit organization that promotes the separation of church and state and educates the public on matters relating to atheism, agnosticism, and nontheism. Under her leadership, the foundation was involved in several high-profile legal cases, including one that ended the teaching of Christian doctrine in a Tennessee public school[7] and another that overturned a law that made Good Friday a state holiday in Wisconsin.[8]
Gaylor produced the first atheist commercials that ever aired on television, on Madison's Channel 3. She also appeared on television and radio programs such as Crossfire, Larry King's radio show, and Oprah Winfrey's A.M. Chicago as a spokesperson for FFRF.[1]
In 1999 the FFRF published The World Famous Atheist Cookbook, edited by Gaylor.[9]
Awards
edit- Commendation from the Wisconsin State Assembly[10]
- Citation from the Wisconsin State Senate[10]
- Wisconsin National Organization for Women Feminist of the Year Award[10]
- Service and Commitment Award from the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus[10]
- Humanist Heroine Award from the American Humanist Association[11]
- NARAL's Tiller Award[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Tribute to Anne Nicol Gaylor". FFRF Website. Freedom From Religion Foundation. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ a b c "Anne Nicol Gaylor". FFRF Website. Freedom From Religion Foundation. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ a b c Mehta, Hemant (28 October 2013). "Four Decades and 20,000 Abortions Later, Anne Nicol Gaylor's Organization is Still Going Strong". Friendly Atheist blog. Patheos. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ Gaylor, Anne Nicol. "The Phone Calls Begin". Abortion is a Blessing (excerpted on ffrf.org). Freedom From Religion Foundation. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ a b Erickson, Doug (August 22, 2010). "Crusader with a checkbook: Anne Nicol Gaylor helps women fund abortions". Wisconsin State Journal. Lee Enterprises. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ "Abortion is a Blessing". FFRF Website. Freedom From Religion Foundation. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- ^ Doe v. Porter, 370 F.3d 558 (6th Cir. June 7, 2004).
- ^ Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Thompson, 920 F.Supp. 969 (W.D. Wis. February 23, 1996).
- ^ The World Famous Atheist Cookbook. ISBN 1877733105.
- ^ a b c d "Citation from Wisconsin State Assembly". FFRF Website. Freedom From Religion Foundation. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ "Humanist Heroine Award Recipients". AHA Website. American Humanist Association. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ Cusack, Nora (October 2011). "Anne Gaylor receives NARAL's Tiller Award". Freethought Today. 28 (8).
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