1436 "U" Street
Suite 301
Washington, DC
20009
URL: Website
Nominally Catholic organization that supports the right to abortion-on-demand
Heavily financed by several foundations that do not support any officially recognized Catholic charity
Founded in 1973 by members of the National Organization for Women
Catholics For a Free Choice (CFFC) is a nonprofit organization comprised of members who identify themselves as followers of the Catholic faith but take positions contrary to their church's doctrine on a number of moral issues. The group candidly approves of premarital sex, contraception, and most notably, abortion. CFFC's stated mission is "to ensure public recognition of the existence, in substantial numbers, of pro-choice Catholics."
In addition, between 1996 and 2000 CFFC's international subsidiaries, Catholics for a Free Choice Latin America and Catholics for a Free Decision, received over 50 foundation grants totaling more than $10 million.
CFFC was founded in 1973, shortly after the Roe v. Wade decision, by three National Organization for Women (NOW) members -- Joan Harriman, Patricia Fogarty McQuillan, and Meta Mulcahy. According to the CFFC website, "At the time, little if any active dissent movement existed in the church. The impression was widespread that Catholics followed the bishops unquestioningly. … These three women … recognized the importance of organized opposition to the hierarchy's campaign. They were motivated by the simple conviction that the bishops did not represent the Catholic people on reproductive rights issues, including abortion.” In its early years, CFFC was almost entirely a voluntary operation; it had no staff, no office, and no budget. Its work was conducted partly out of its members' homes, and partly out of office space provided, free of charge, by Planned Parenthood. The modest funding that CFFC received in those early years came from the Unitarian Church, a strong advocate of abortion and population control.
A watershed moment for CFFC came in 1979, when it hired Pat McMahon as Executive Director. She shifted CFFC's legal status from a lobby to an educational association, thereby making the group eligible for tax-exempt status and opening the door to foundation support. Shortly thereafter, the Sunnen Foundation gave CFFC a $75,000 grant to fund the group's first publications, the Abortion in Good Faith series.
In 1982 Frances Kissling succeeded McMahon as CFFC president. Kissling greatly increased the group's fundraising efforts, and she initiated its publication of pamphlets, newsletters, and a quarterly magazine called Conscience. With Kissling still at the helm, CFFC today ranks among Washington's most well-funded special-interest groups.
