October 20, 2010
One of the champions of the pro-life movement has died. Dr. Mildred Jefferson was the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School. She was 84.
I knew Mildred. We often crossed paths on the pro-life speaking circuit. She was a warm, articulate and principled doctor who criticized her profession for allowing abortion to become a regular practice. She said the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade "gave my profession an almost unlimited license to kill."
Any other black woman with her credentials and background would have been celebrated in culture and the media, but Dr. Jefferson was marginalized because of her pro-life views. In its obituary, the New York Times called her an "anti-abortion activist." The co-director of National Right to Life called her "probably the greatest orator of our movement. In fact, take away the ‘probably'".
If you want to see how articulate she was, go to youtube.com and type in Mildred Jefferson. If you never knew her, or knew of her, you will be impressed and understand how much the pro-life movement will miss her voice.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
