[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 31 (Friday, February 16, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E200-E201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. MILDRED FAY JEFFERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LOUIE GOHMERT

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 16, 2018

  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, we are blessed, in the First District of 
Texas, to have been home to a multitude of extraordinary individuals 
who have made significant impacts upon not only the State of Texas and 
our nation, but the entire world. Today, we honor one of these 
extraordinary individuals from east Texas, the late Dr. Mildred Fay 
Jefferson.
  Dr. Jefferson was a young prodigy, raised in the town of Carthage, 
Texas. Her early education was completed before she reached the age of 
fifteen, graduating from Carthage Colored High School--later known as 
Turner High School--in 1943.
  The determined young woman obtained a Bachelor's degree in Medicine 
from Texas College at the age of eighteen, and in 1947, she completed 
her Master's degree in Biology from Tufts University. Dr. Jefferson 
then conquered the odds and became the first African American woman to 
graduate with a Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School, in 1951.
  After becoming a medical doctor, Dr. Jefferson continued to make 
history with a long string of ``firsts'' for women--including being the 
first woman to serve on staff at Boston City Hospital, the first woman 
to be granted membership in the Boston Surgical Society, and the first 
female Surgeon General at Boston University Medical Center.
  Dr. Jefferson married former Navy Lieutenant Shane Cunningham in 
1961. After their divorce in 1978, Dr. Jefferson turned her life to 
activism, by establishing the Massachusetts Citizens for Life Council.
  It was a decision made by the American Medical Association in 1970, 
however, that ignited Dr. Jefferson's passion to defend life. It was at 
this time that the American Medical Association decided that they would 
allow member physicians, who performed abortions in states where this 
procedure was already allowed, to perform abortions and view them 
ethically. Viewing this decision as the abandonment of the Hippocratic 
Oath to ``do no harm,'' Dr. Jefferson began a nationwide outcry against 
abortion.
  Dr. Jefferson helped form the Value of Life Committee which was one 
of the organizations that initiated the national ``right-to-life'' 
movement which endures to this day. She quickly became one of the most 
sought after and fervent spokespersons in the nation to represent the 
pro-life stance. In 1981, Dr. Jefferson testified before Congress as a 
result of the historic 1973 Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade.

[[Page E201]]

  Dr. Jefferson was quoted as saying, ``I became a physician in order 
to save lives, not to destroy them.'' She also said, ``I am not willing 
to stand aside and allow this concept of expendable human lives to turn 
this great land of ours into just another exclusive reservation where 
only the perfect, the privileged, and the planned have the right to 
live.''
  The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) was co-founded by Dr. 
Jefferson in 1973. She then entered the world of politics, running for 
the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts in 1982, 1990, and 1994.
  Dr. Jefferson was honored with twenty-eight honorary degrees from 
numerous universities and colleges. Although Dr. Jefferson passed away 
at the age of eighty-four on October 15, 2010, her life's mission 
continues today. She will be forever remembered as one of the most 
notable and unwavering crusaders for the rights of unborn children.
  It is truly a distinct privilege to honor this remarkable woman, 
whose exceptional life, steadfast devotion, and landmark 
accomplishments are included in the Record, which will endure as long 
as there is a United States of America.

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