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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson, a trailblazing |
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physician, educator, and activist, passed away on October 15, 2010, |
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at the age of 84, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of achievement; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The only child of Millard and Guthrie Jefferson, |
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Mildred Fay Jefferson was born in Pittsburg and grew up in Carthage, |
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where her father served as a Methodist minister; she attended |
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public schools in East Texas and later graduated summa cum laude |
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from Texas College in Tyler, before enrolling at Tufts University |
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in Medford, Massachusetts, and earning her master's degree; setting |
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her sights on the medical field, she etched her name in history as |
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the first African American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical |
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School in 1951; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Jefferson remained a groundbreaking figure in |
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her medical career, becoming the first woman employed as a general |
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surgeon at Boston Medical Center; she served as a professor at |
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Boston University's School of Medicine, and she had a career-long |
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interest in the relationship between medicine, ethics, and law, as |
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well as their wider social and public policy implications; she |
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further made a name for herself as the first woman ever admitted |
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into the Boston Surgical Society; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1970s, Dr. Jefferson aligned herself with the |
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right-to-life movement; after serving on the board of governors of |
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the Value of Life Committee, she formed the Massachusetts Citizens |
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for Life in 1972, and her organization eventually incorporated as a |
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state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee; in 1978, |
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she became the founding president of the Right to Life Crusade, |
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Inc.; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Jefferson's steadfast dedication to the cause |
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led her to campaign for candidates at the local, state, and national |
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levels who shared her views, and she appeared in television |
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advertisements for pro-life presidential candidate Ellen McCormack |
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in 1976; over the years, Dr. Jefferson served on the boards of more |
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than 30 different groups opposing abortion, euthanasia, human |
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cloning, and embryonic stem cell research, and she was affiliated |
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with both Black Americans for Life and Feminists for Life; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Mildred Jefferson distinguished herself as an |
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eloquent and fearless voice for the pro-life movement, and through |
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her unshakeable resolve to make a difference, she set an inspiring |
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example that continues to endure to this day; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature, 2nd |
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Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life and legacy of |
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Dr. Mildred Fay Jefferson; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That when the Texas Senate adjourns this day, it do |
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so in memory of Dr. Jefferson. |