Jon O'Brien
Jon O'Brien, president of
Catholics for Choice (CFC), heads the leading prochoice organization
that addresses sexual and reproductive rights from a standpoint of culture,
faith, and morality. Through his leadership, O'Brien is committed
to maintaining a visionary approach to reproductive health policy, focused
on shaping and advancing the way people, especially opinion leaders
and policy makers, think and feel about reproductive rights. With more
than twenty years experience in the field, Mr. O'Brien is a leader
in developing global strategy surrounding reproductive health and rights
issues. He has worked on five continents with local advocates and activists
on policy development, advocacy, and communications. Highly sought after
for his expertise, O'Brien has increased communications and advocacy
efficacy by working with partners around the world--including family
planning associations, medical practitioners, prochoice advocates, nonprofit
leaders and policy makers--to develop new ways to approach and discuss
the abortion debate.
A life-long Catholic born and
raised in the Republic of Ireland, Mr. O'Brien's initial involvement
in reproductive rights was sparked by his reaction to the great injustices
that women especially face as a result of the Catholic hierarchy's
influence over public policy in the country. He began his professional
career with the Irish Family Planning Association, where he worked on
the front lines of reproductive health provision and was instrumental
in developing the strategy that successfully engineered the downfall
of Ireland's restrictive contraceptive laws. Before joining CFC over
ten years ago, O'Brien also worked as program manager at the International
Planned Parenthood Federation's European Bureau in London, overseeing
the federation's work establishing family planning clinics in Eastern
Europe during a time of immense political and social turmoil.
O'Brien has been honored by the International Parliamentarians Conference
on ICPD, recognized as a "Key to Choice" by Planned Parenthood Golden
Gate, and received the Abby J. Leibman Pursuit of Justice Lifetime Achievement
Award from the California Women's Law Center in 2007.
Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?
by Jon O'Brien, Catholics for Choice
November 2, 2011 - 11:14am (Print)
I firmly believe the requirements under the Affordable Care Act, and the slate of regulations being created to implement it, infringe on no one’s conscience, demand no one change her or his religious beliefs, discriminate against no man or woman, put no additional economic burden on the poor, interfere with no one’s medical decisions, compromise no one’s health -- that is, if you consider the law without refusal clauses.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Influential in Passage of Let Women Die Act 2011
by Jon O'Brien, Catholics for Choice
October 14, 2011 - 8:44am (Print)
Catholics today expressed anger about the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ role in promoting support for the so-called “Protect Life Act” (HR 358), a bill that will endanger women’s lives across the US with an extreme ban on abortion coverage while expanding permission for health professionals to refuse to provide reproductive healthcare services, even in life-threatening situations.
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