Catholics for Choice

Catholics for Choice is a United States nonprofit advocacy organization focused on abortion rights, contraception, reproductive healthcare, and the relationship between religious belief and public policy. It was established in 1973 as Catholics for a Free Choice by Joan Harriman, Patricia Fogarty McQuillan, and Meta Mulcahy. The organization emerged from an earlier New York lobbying group, Catholics for the Elimination of All Restrictive Abortion & Contraceptive Laws, and sought to frame access to abortion and contraception as compatible with the moral reasoning and pluralism of many Catholics. The organization is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church and does not represent the official teaching of the Holy See or Catholic bishops. Its public identity is based on the argument that Catholics can support legal abortion and reproductive autonomy in good conscience, and that civil law should not impose one religious position on a religiously diverse population. This stance has placed it in sustained opposition to Catholic bishops and other authorities who maintain that abortion is intrinsically wrong and that Catholics for Choice misuses Catholic identity while promoting views contrary to Church teaching. CFC became more visible during the 1970s through disputes involving Catholic authority and reproductive rights. In 1974, board member Joseph O'Rourke, then a Jesuit priest, publicly baptized an infant outside a locked church in Marlborough, Massachusetts, after local clergy declined to perform the baptism. O'Rourke acted against the instructions of his superiors and was subsequently dismissed from the Jesuit order. The episode illustrated the organization's willingness to challenge ecclesiastical authority and attracted national attention. During the late 1970s and 1980s, CFC moved from a primarily lobbying orientation toward education, research, and political advocacy. Patricia McMahon's leadership helped shift the organization toward an educational structure that could receive foundation support. Frances Kissling joined the organization in 1978, became a board member in 1980, and assumed the presidency in 1982. She led CFC for roughly a quarter century, expanding its political profile and connecting Catholic pro-choice arguments with broader American debates over abortion and contraception. The organization's most prominent early publicity event occurred in 1984, when it placed a full-page advertisement in The New York Times titled "A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion." Signed by 97 Catholic theologians, clergy, religious figures, and laypeople, the statement argued that abortion could sometimes be a morally responsible choice and that such decisions should be made without coercion. The advertisement appeared during the presidential campaign in which Geraldine Ferraro, a Catholic supporter of abortion rights, was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. Catholic disciplinary action against some signatories generated a prolonged public dispute and significantly increased CFC's recognition in Catholic and political circles. CFC has also worked internationally. It received nongovernmental organization status at the United Nations in 1992 and participated in related conferences concerning reproductive health, family planning, contraception, and abortion. In 1999, it launched the See Change campaign, an unsuccessful effort to alter the Holy See's status at the United Nations. The campaign argued that the Holy See should not possess the diplomatic privileges and speaking influence associated with its position because its representation did not function like that of a conventional sovereign population. Support came from hundreds of advocacy organizations, including major reproductive-rights groups, but the campaign faced substantial diplomatic and scholarly criticism. Leadership after Kissling included Jon O'Brien, a former vice president and communications director who became president in 2007; Sara Hutchinson Ratcliffe, who served as acting president in 2019; and Jamie L. Manson, who became president in October 2020 after working as a columnist at the National Catholic Reporter. The organization has also been led on an interim basis by Christopher Wimbush. CFC operates as an advocacy group rather than a membership organization, using paid staff and selected volunteer activists. Its support has historically included secular philanthropic foundations. Its present work remains centered on public education, policy advocacy, research, coalition-building, and defending access to abortion and contraception.

Catholics for Choice began in 1973 under the name Catholics for a Free Choice. Its founders were Joan Harriman, Patricia Fogarty McQuillan, and Meta Mulcahy, and its origins lay in a New York lobbying organization formed to oppose restrictive abortion and contraception laws. The new group attempted to make a pro-choice argument using Catholic moral language, emphasizing conscience, individual responsibility, and the distinction between religious teaching and civil legislation. The organization's early history included direct challenges to Catholic authority. In 1974, Joseph O'Rourke, a Jesuit priest and an early CFFC board member, joined Joan Harriman in traveling to Marlborough, Massachusetts, to baptize an infant whose local clergy had refused the rite. The refusal followed public controversy surrounding the child's mother and a proposed abortion clinic. O'Rourke baptized the child outside the locked church in front of a large crowd, despite instructions from his superiors. He was dismissed from the Jesuit order the following month and later served for a period as CFFC board president. The organization changed its institutional orientation during the late 1970s. Patricia McMahon became president in 1979 and helped move CFFC from a lobbying structure toward an educational association. That shift enabled it to seek tax-exempt treatment and foundation funding. A grant from the Sunnen Foundation supported the group's first publications, including the Abortion in Good Faith series. Frances Kissling, who had experience operating an abortion clinic and had helped establish the National Abortion Federation, joined CFFC in 1978, entered its board in 1980, and became president in 1982. Kissling's tenure brought a stronger political and media focus. In 1982, CFFC organized a briefing for Catholic members of Congress arguing that Catholic opinion on abortion was not uniform. During the 1984 presidential campaign, Cardinal John O'Connor criticized Geraldine Ferraro's support for abortion rights. CFFC responded with a New York Times advertisement signed by 97 Catholic clergy, religious figures, theologians, and laypeople. The statement said that abortion could sometimes be morally acceptable and that responsible moral choices required freedom from coercion. Church disciplinary measures against some signatories made the advertisement a major episode in the public conflict between Catholic hierarchy and pro-choice Catholics. In the 1990s, CFC expanded its international profile. It received United Nations NGO status in 1992 and took part in conferences on reproductive health, contraception, and family planning. In 1999, it initiated the See Change campaign to challenge the Holy See's position at the United Nations. CFC and its allies argued that the Holy See's diplomatic privileges allowed it to impede consensus on issues such as contraception, condom distribution, sex education, and abortion. The campaign attracted support from hundreds of organizations but did not achieve its objective. Critics argued that the Holy See had a legitimate diplomatic role and that the campaign was hostile to Catholicism. Conflict with Catholic authorities continued in the United States. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops have stated that Catholics for Choice is not a Catholic organization and that its positions contradict official Catholic teaching. In 1996, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska, issued an interdict naming CFC among organizations whose membership he described as incompatible or dangerous to Catholic faith. Catholics in the diocese were told to leave the listed organizations or face automatic excommunication. CFC president Frances Kissling rejected the bishop's position and maintained that Catholics who supported reproductive choice could remain Catholics in good faith. The organization has also faced criticism from former supporters and academic commentators. Marjorie Rieley Maguire, a former activist and co-author of the 1984 advertisement, later described CFC as excessively focused on defending abortion and accused it of weakening moral constraints. Other critics have argued that CFC lacks a broad grassroots Catholic membership and that its arguments resemble those of secular abortion-rights organizations. CFC's supporters, by contrast, regard its work as an effort to make room for dissenting Catholic voices and to prevent religious doctrine from determining public law. In 2007, Jon O'Brien, previously a vice president and communications director, became president. Sara Hutchinson Ratcliffe served as acting president in 2019. Jamie L. Manson took over as president in October 2020 after leaving the National Catholic Reporter. The organization is not a membership association; it combines paid staff with selectively recruited volunteer activists and works through publications, media, legislative advocacy, coalition campaigns, and international policy engagement. It has historically received support from secular foundations, including the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Playboy Foundation. Its continuing identity is that of an independent reproductive-rights advocacy group using Catholic conscience and pluralism as central elements of its public message.

• 2020

  Jamie L. Manson becomes president

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Jamie L. Manson assumed the presidency after her work as a National Catholic Reporter columnist.

• 2007

  Jon O'Brien appointed president

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Jon O'Brien succeeded to the presidency after serving in senior communications and program roles.

• 1999

  See Change campaign launched

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  CFC began a campaign seeking to reduce the Holy See's status and influence at the United Nations; the effort ultimately failed.

• 1996

  Lincoln diocese interdict

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz placed CFC among organizations whose membership he deemed incompatible or perilous for Catholics in the Diocese of Lincoln.

• 1992

  United Nations NGO status

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  CFC obtained nongovernmental organization status at the United Nations and began participating in relevant international forums.

• 1984

  New York Times Catholic pluralism advertisement

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  A statement signed by 97 Catholic figures argued that abortion could sometimes be a moral choice and became a defining public intervention for the organization.

• 1982

  Catholic congressional briefing

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  CFFC sponsored a briefing for Catholic members of Congress emphasizing that Catholic views on abortion were not monolithic.

• 1979

  Shift toward an educational association

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Under Patricia McMahon, the organization changed its legal and operational orientation to support education, publications, and foundation funding.

• 1974

  Public baptism dispute in Marlborough

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Jesuit priest and board member Joseph O'Rourke baptized an infant outside a locked Massachusetts church after local clergy refused the ceremony, leading to his dismissal from the Jesuit order.

• 1973

  Organization founded as Catholics for a Free Choice

  [1]Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org

  Joan Harriman, Patricia Fogarty McQuillan, and Meta Mulcahy established the organization to advocate access to abortion and contraception from a pro-choice Catholic perspective.

A pro-choice reproductive-rights advocacy organization that argues that Catholic conscience, religious pluralism, and civil law can support legal access to abortion and contraception. It distinguishes the views of supportive Catholics from the official positions of Catholic bishops and the Holy See.

• Publication series · 1979

  Abortion in Good Faith series

  An early publication program presenting arguments that abortion access could be evaluated through Catholic conscience, moral responsibility, and pluralism rather than exclusively through official hierarchical teaching.

• Magazine and editorial publication

  Conscience magazine

  A publication associated with Catholics for Choice that addresses abortion, contraception, reproductive healthcare, religion, ethics, and public policy from a pro-choice perspective.

• Research and advocacy service

  Policy briefings and research

  Educational materials and policy analysis designed for lawmakers, journalists, advocates, and members of the public examining Catholic opinion, reproductive rights, and the role of religion in lawmaking.

• 1996

  Lincoln diocese excommunication threat

  Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz warned Catholics in his diocese that membership in CFC and other named organizations could result in automatic excommunication after an interdict.

  Source

• 1984

  Church discipline following abortion advertisement

  The organization's New York Times statement on Catholic pluralism and abortion led to disciplinary measures against some Catholic religious figures who had signed it, provoking an extended public dispute.

  Source

• 1974

  Marlborough baptism controversy

  Joseph O'Rourke, an early CFC board member and Jesuit priest, baptized an infant outside a locked church after local clergy refused the ceremony. He acted against his superiors' instructions and was later expelled from the Jesuit order.

  Source

Read more

• 1999See Change

  International · United Nations

  CFC and allied organizations sought to downgrade the Holy See's position at the United Nations, arguing that its diplomatic role gave it disproportionate influence over reproductive-health policy.

  Outcome. The campaign was unsuccessful despite support from hundreds of organizations and some European political figures.

  Source
• 1984A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion

  United States

  CFC sponsored a New York Times advertisement signed by 97 Catholic figures. It argued that abortion could sometimes be morally justified and that conscience-based decisions required freedom from coercion.

  Outcome. The advertisement triggered Church disciplinary action against some signatories and substantially increased CFC's visibility.

  Source

• 1999

  Launched the See Change diplomatic campaignStrategy

  Background

  CFC objected to the Holy See's influence in United Nations debates over contraception, condoms, family planning, sex education, and abortion.

  Action taken

  It organized an international coalition seeking to change the Holy See's United Nations status.

  Aftermath

  The initiative did not achieve its objective and was criticized by diplomats and scholars who defended the Holy See's role.

  Source

• 1979

  Reoriented from lobbying toward educationStrategy

  Background

  The organization sought a structure that could support publications, educational work, tax-exempt treatment, and philanthropic funding.

  Action taken

  Under Patricia McMahon, CFFC shifted toward an educational-association model.

  Aftermath

  The change broadened its ability to publish research and receive foundation support.

  Source

1. 1Catholics for Choiceen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Catholics for Choice official websitecatholicsforchoice.org