Joan Dunlop

Joan Marie Dunlop (née Banks, May 20, 1934 - June 29, 2012) was a British women's health advocate and activist. She was the first president of the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC).

Biography

Dunlop was born in London to a British father and an American mother.[1] Dunlop attended the Queen's Secretarial College in London.[2] As a young woman, she had an illegal abortion in England, and her experience "fueled her campaign to improve women's reproductive choices."[1]

Dunlop helped raise money for the New York Public Library and was an advisor to John D. Rockefeller III on population.[3] She also worked in the budget office of the Mayor John V. Lindsay.[3] While Dunlop was working for the Ford Foundation, she was told Rockefeller was interested in interviewing her for a position.[4] During her interview with Rockefeller for the job as a population adviser, Dunlop told him the story of her abortion and later she said, "He listened with great attentiveness."[3] Dunlop was hired by Rockefeller in 1973.[2] She worked with Rockefeller on the Population Council where she helped expand research the council did and also promoted the idea that recognizing women's sexuality was important in population control.[1]

Dunlop founded the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) in 1984.[5] Part of her motivation in leaving a good job and taking on the task of running the IWHC was that she was "angry at the rise of the anti-abortion movement in the United States" which she considered an organizing tool for a conservative political agenda.[5] She was a strong driving force behind the IWHC, changing what was at first a small project into a global women's health organization.[6]

After retiring from the IWHC, she worked to put together a women's group to lobby for women's voices in United States foreign policy.[3]

Dunlop died after a battle with cancer on June 29, 2012 in Connecticut.[6]

Additional Information

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Martin, Douglas (30 June 2012). "Joan Dunlop, Advocate for Women's Health Rights, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Joan Banks Dunlop". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bumiller, Elisabeth (14 April 1998). "Putting Women's Rights in Population Policy". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Dunlop and Sharpless 2004, p. 2.
  5. 1 2 "Joan Dunlop". Reproductive Health Matters. 20 (40): 197. November 2012. doi:10.1016/s0968-8080(12)40650-4. JSTOR 41714995. (Subscription required (help)).
  6. 1 2 Girard, Françoise (29 June 2012). "Statement by the Board and Staff of IWHC on the passing of Joan B. Dunlop". International Women's Health Coalition. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

Sources

  • Dunlop, Joan; Sharpless, Rebecca (2004). "Joan Dunlop". Population and Reproductive Health Oral History Project (PDF). Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College.
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