- Frances Kissling
Frances Kissling (born 1943) was President of
Catholics for a Free Choice from its founding in 1982 until her resignation in February 2007.Early life
Frances Kissling was born Frances Romanski into a Polish
working-class Catholic family inNew York in 1943, [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/oral_history/smith2.html] the oldest of four children. Her mother divorced and later married a man named Kissling. Inspired by the nuns at her Catholic school, she joined aconvent in the early 1960s at age 19. However after just six months she left due to disagreements with the church's teachings ondivorce andbirth control . [http://www.ppgg.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=esJMKZPKJtH&b=1371221&ct=3612017]Pro-choice activism
Kissling became active in the
women's movement in the 1960s. In 1970, afterabortion was made legal in New York, she was asked to direct anabortion clinic in Pelham. In 1977 she was appointed founding President of theNational Abortion Federation , a position she held until 1980. [http://www.ppgg.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=esJMKZPKJtH&b=1371221&ct=3612017] In 1978 she joined the board ofCatholics for a Free Choice , and in 1982 she took over as president - a position she held for 25 years until her retirement in 2007. She is strongly committed to public funding for reproductive health and abortion, and is the co-author of "Rosie: The Investigation of a Wrongful Death". [http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2.20.07FKDeparture.asp]Current projects
Kissling is a 2007-2008 Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program, part of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Her project while in residence is a book, "How to Think about Abortion: Pro-choice Reflections on Rights and Responsibility". [http://stage.radcliffe.edu/fellowships/current/]
Footnotes
References
* United States National Library of Medicine: [http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/oral_history/smith2.html Guide to Oral Histories in Medicine and the Health Sciences]
* Planned Parenthood: Choice in the News: [http://www.ppgg.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=esJMKZPKJtH&b=1371221&ct=3612017 Backing Abortion Rights While Keeping the Faith]
* Catholics for a Free Choice: Press Releases: [http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/pr/2.20.07FKDeparture.asp Frances Kissling, Influential Proponent of Reproductive Choice and Vocal Critic of the Roman Catholic Church, To Step Down After 25 Years as President of Catholics for a Free Choice]
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