[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E972]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                   HONORING THE LIFE OF ANN McGUINESS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2022

  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of an 
extraordinary woman's rights leader and advocate, Ann McGuiness, of 
Selkirk, New York. Ann passed away peacefully and surrounded by family 
on August 3, 2022, following an aggressive, and courageous battle with 
cancer. Ann's life and achievements will be celebrated and remembered 
on September 28, 2022, in Washington, DC, where she did so much work to 
advance privacy rights and delivery of women's health care based on 
science and medicine.
  Born in 1957 and raised in Newington, Connecticut, to Edward and 
Catherine McGuiness, Ann's life was initiated and guided by her 
Connecticut origins. Her proud, Connecticut-Catholic upbringing--and 
with it an instilled affinity for social justice--was reinforced by her 
earning a political science degree from the College of St. Joseph in 
West Hartford, Connecticut. By that point, through her tenacious 
demeanor, she had already discovered what would ultimately grow into 
her life-long passion: advocating for women's reproductive rights.
  Her tireless advocacy and passion can be observed in every step of 
her life's story--no matter what Ann was doing, she always tied it back 
to advancing equal rights for women. The earliest stage of her career 
prior to obtaining a master's in public administration from Columbia 
University, was with the National Women's Political Caucus. She 
continued her political advocacy by campaigning on Tim Wirth's campaign 
for Senate. Upon then Senator Wirth's successful electoral bid, Ann, 
equipped with her experience and passion, made a career transition to 
work for NARAL Pro-Choice in 1987, a mission which she remained 
dedicated to for 17 years. Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of 
knowing Ann personally, particularly in her earliest years of political 
activism. She was very bright, very principled and had a great sense of 
humor. Her husband and soul mate William ``Chip'' Reynolds was a 
perfect match and they supported each other's social activism as well 
as their commitment to growing and raising a beautiful family.
  Having built up roughly two decades of experience and a network in 
reproductive rights advocacy, Ann transitioned her career again in 
2006, this time lending her unmatched expertise to Planned Parenthood's 
fundraising arm. She approached her senior role at Planned Parenthood 
with the same sense of ferocity that she brought to every other 
project. What caused her to be most successful in her role, however, 
was her penchant for connecting with young people and her steadfast 
belief in affording reproductive rights for all that energized her to 
pour limitless energy into the mission. Relentless in her pursuits to 
ensure equal access to reproductive rights, Ann left Planned Parenthood 
in 2018, working to form the Contraceptive Access Initiative in 2020--
an effort which was purposed towards ensuring contraceptives were 
available to women without barriers.
  Madam Speaker, we have all come to know Ann McGuiness as a champion 
of community, inspiring and convincing others to become philanthropists 
and donate hundreds of millions of dollars toward a cause fundamentally 
important to her and the lives of women across the country. We would be 
hard-pressed to find an example of someone more unwavering in their 
commitment to a cause. Of her critical work, nothing may have been more 
important to Ann than mentoring and recruiting youth on the issue of 
reproductive rights. For, over the decades, Ann McGuiness had not only 
solidified the legacy and strength of a post-Roe America, but has now 
undoubtedly inspired brigades of activists to carry the torch, as we 
collectively fight to not just regain, but expand even further women's 
reproductive rights. This legacy will hopefully provide solace for the 
loss her husband, Chip Reynolds, children Nora Reynolds and Nicholas 
Reynolds and siblings, Patrick McGuiness, Timothy McGuiness and Mary 
Kate Hallisey have and will endure. Those of us in public office can 
and should contribute to that effort to honor her memory. To that end, 
Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Ann 
McGuiness.

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