Faye Wattleton (1943 - ) was born in St. Louis, MO. She is a trained nurse who studied midwifery in 1964 at Columbia University Medical School. She was the first female president of Planned Parenthood, as well as the first African-American. She held this position from 1978 - 1992. During this time she championed reproductive rights for all women, including the right to a safe and legal abortion.
Ms. Wattleton first noticed the differences in care given to those who were low income during her nursing years.
"The women who came to my hospitals under less than dignified circumstances were not affluent. That girl in Harlem who died was not affluent...That's when I became aware of the political significance of these people. If they really cared about equity and fairness in life they would say that as long as abortion is legal in this country, poor people should have the same access as the rich" (Smith 577).
Faye Wattleton was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993 for her tremendous contributions to the health of women and the Planned Parenthood organization.
Recently, Ms. Wattleton joined a panel of distinguished women in Tavis Smiley's program "Made Visible: Women, Children, & Poverty in America" to discuss the status of women and children in the US today.
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