[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 200 (Thursday, December 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1338-E1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LATE DR. MILDRED FAY JEFFERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LOUIE GOHMERT

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 22, 2022

  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam 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. One of those east Texans is whose life we 
honor today, the late Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson.
  Dr. Jefferson was a young prodigy raised in the town of Carthage, 
Texas. Her early education was complete 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, then completed her Master's 
degree in Biology from Tufts University in 1947. Dr. Jefferson then 
conquered the odds and earned her M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 
1951, making her the first African American woman to graduate with that 
degree from the Medical School.
  After becoming a medical doctor, Dr. Jefferson continued to make 
history with a long string of ``firsts'' for women--including the first 
woman to serve on staff of 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 Counsel.
  A 1970 decision by the American Medical Association to allow member 
physicians to perform abortions ethically in states where the procedure 
was allowed sparked a passion in Dr. Jefferson's soul, as she viewed 
this decision as abandoning the Hippocratic Oath which demands a doctor 
to ``do no harm.'' She 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 today. 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.
  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 will endure as long as there is a United States of 
America.

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