Fran Avallone (1937–2003), born Frances Janet Weinstein, was an American abortion rights advocate. She was director of New Jersey Right to Choose as well as Choice New Jersey, a coalition of 30 abortion rights groups.

Biography

Frances Janet Weinstein was born in 1937 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

. A high school graduate, she married novelist

Michael Avallone Michael Angelo Avallone (October 27, 1924 – February 26, 1999) was an American author of mystery, secret agent fiction, and novelizations of television and films. His lifetime output was over 223 works (although he boasted over 1,000), publi ...

and at 26,

miscarried Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical l ...

while five months pregnant. Hospitalized in Brooklyn, New York law required medical staff to keep her and the dead fetus on the hospital bed until a member of the state Board of Health arrived to verify she had not aborted. The experience motivated her to advocate for women's reproductive rights. In 1973, she joined the Middlesex County (New Jersey)

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, in 1974 becoming president of the board and later serving as staff director of fundraising (1984-1989). Alarmed by continued restrictions on abortion access despite the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

mandate in ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and ...

'' in 1973, Avallone founded New Jersey Right to Choose in 1975. She served as its longtime director, growing the organization to 7000 members. In 1978, she initiated litigation contesting a 1975 state law that had banned the use of state

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and ...

funding for abortion. In 1982 the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging t ...

ruled in favor of the lawsuit, overturning the ban in ''Right to Choose v. Byrne''. Avallone died December 10, 2003 of lung cancer at her

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

home. She was survived by two children and a stepchild.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avallone, Fran 1937 births 2003 deaths People from Brooklyn Activists from New Jersey Reproductive rights activists Activists from New York City Deaths from lung cancer in California 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women