Alice Wolfson is an American activist. A

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

graduate and former

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, she is a veteran political activist in women's

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life. The term can also be further de ...

issues, a lawyer, and a co-founder of the

National Women's Health Network The National Women's Health Network (NWHN) is a non-profit women's health advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1975 by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, and Phyllis Chesler. The stated missi ...

. She played an important role at the

Nelson Pill Hearings In 1970, Barbara Seaman brought the dangers of combined oral contraceptive pill use to the attention of Senator Gaylord Nelson with her book ''The Doctors Case Against the Pill''. Nelson, who at the time was also busy organizing the first Earth Da ...

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

, where she and other soon-to-be prominent health feminists were galvanized by their success at warning women of

the Pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: proges ...

's dangerous side effects. In 1968, she signed the “

Writers and Editors War Tax Protest Tax resistance, the practice of refusing to pay taxes that are considered unjust, has probably existed ever since rulers began imposing taxes on their subjects. It has been suggested that tax resistance played a significant role in the collapse of ...

” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. She worked in the 1990s to obtain damages for women adversely affected by

breast implants A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a person's breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a natural looking breast following a mastectomy, to correct congenital ...

. She is featured in the feminist history film '' She's Beautiful When She's Angry''. Today, Wolfson is an attorney who specializes in women's health care. Wolfson is concerned about new methods of

hormonal contraception Hormonal contraception refers to birth control methods that act on the endocrine system. Almost all methods are composed of steroid hormones, although in India one selective estrogen receptor modulator is marketed as a contraceptive. The origin ...

and advocates use of

barrier methods Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer se ...

over oral or injectable contraceptives. She believes that "it is criminal to suggest anything other than condoms." loom, 1995/ref>

References

Sources

* Amy Bloom, "Alice Wolfson Still Speaking Out", National Women's Health Network Newsletter, Jan/Feb 199

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfson, Alice Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women lawyers American health activists American lawyers American tax resisters American women's rights activists Barnard College alumni Women's health movement 21st-century American women