Lee Minto
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Lee Minto (born 1927) is an American women's health activist and sex education advocate. She served as Executive Director of the Seattle-King County chapter of
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 ...
for 27 years, and was instrumental in Washington State Referendum 20, a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 1970 that successfully legalized early pregnancy abortion in the state of Washington.


Early life and education

Minto was born October 11, 1927, in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
,
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
. Her grandparents had moved to Montana from
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
in 1890; Minto's grandfather was the personal attorney of "Copper King"
Marcus Daly Marcus Daly (December 5, 1841 – November 12, 1900) was an Irish-born American businessman known as one of the three " Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, United States. Early life Daly emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland, to the United States ...
and had helped form Montana's first legislature. Minto met her husband, B-29 pilot Robert Minto, during her sophomore year at the
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...
, and they married three months later. The couple moved to
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
soon after their marriage, and Minto finished her education at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. They had three children – two daughters and a son.


Career

Minto's first paid position was a job at the UN Pavilion at Seattle's World Fair in 1962.


Planned Parenthood

In the late 1950s, a friend had asked Minto to join the local Seattle-King County board of Planned Parenthood. Concerned by the lack of practical sex education in schools, and by the absence of birth control and women's health issues in media coverage, Minto began teaching sex education in schools and giving speeches locally in her role as a Planned Parenthood volunteer. She developed a sex education association for King County. The Seattle-King County Planned Parenthood had been largely run by volunteers up to this point, but in 1967 the organization wanted to expand its services into other parts of Washington, and Minto was hired as the full-time executive director.


Washington State Referendum 20

In 1967, Washington psychologist Sam Goldenberg organized a meeting of medical, legal and religious professionals to discuss the health crisis created by lack of access to safe abortions, and Minto was invited to attend. Aside from her work at Planned Parenthood, Minto was already aware of the need for safe abortions through administrative work at the University Unitarian Church, where she had encountered young pregnant women – and their male partners – searching for assistance. Sam Goldenberg's group continued its discussions and debates, formally becoming the Citizens' Abortion Study Group (later renamed the Washington Citizens for Abortion Reform). Despite being supportive of a woman's right to choose, Minto later recalled that the group was primarily focused on the healthcare issues involved:
Those of us who worked on this, I guess it would be fair to say we were less concerned about women's rights than women's health. The medical people who were involved had all had direct experience with the very harmful effects of back alley abortions.
The group concluded that the state needed to legalize abortions, and they subsequently drafted a bill to submit to legislature. Despite the endorsement of the bill by dozens of groups, including the
Washington State Medical Association The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) is a professional organization providing tangible support of medical practice and access to physician services; promoting quality, cost effective care; and being a respected voice in the public are ...
and the Washington Citizens' Committee on Crime, and the support of Republican Governor Dan Evans, the bill was not passed by legislators. Minto and the others decided to pursue a state referendum instead, seeking support from individuals and organizations all over Washington, and Minto gave over 100 public speeches and presentations leading up to the referendum. They received endorsements from over 62 organizations such as the
Washington State Bar Association The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to ...
, the State Council of Churches, the Washington State PTA, the
Washington Environmental Council Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
and the
International Ladies Garment Workers Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the Clothing#Gender differentiation, women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest trade union, labor unions in the United States, one of the firs ...
. When the referendum took place on November 3, 1970, Washington voters approved state legalization of abortion – with certain conditions attached – passing it with 56.5 per cent of the votes. Washington was the first U.S. state to legalize abortion through a vote of the people. After the referendum, Minto worked to further improve abortion accessibility, working with organizations such as the University of Washington
YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
branch to compile lists of medical doctors who were available to help women seeking an abortion.


1980s

During the 1980s, Minto initiated discussions with Seattle Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen, trying to find common ground between her organization and the Catholic Church; although the discussions were ultimately unsuccessful, Seattle stood as one of the only U.S. cities in which the Catholic Church entered into serious talks with Planned Parenthood.


1990s

In 1991, Minto appeared before the
Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sen ...
to denounce new
Title X The Title X Family Planning Program is the only federal grant program dedicated to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. It was enacted under President Richard Nixon in 1970 as part of th ...
regulations introduced in 1988 that prevented family planning clinics from giving any information about abortions to patients. Speaking as part of a panel alongside Senator Rhoda E. Perry and
Beth Quill Beth may refer to: Letter and number * Bet (letter), or beth, the second letter of the Semitic abjads (writing systems) *Hebrew word for "house", often used in the name of synagogues and schools (e.g. Beth Israel) Name *Beth (given name) lists ...
, director of ambulatory services of the Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Minto argued that family planning clinics could not provide effective healthcare services without the freedom to properly inform their patients of all options:
Family planning is all about planned and wanted children, and I really want to make this statement because I care a lot about that. It's about healthy mothers rearing healthy children ... Family planning is about having the information you need before you make decisions. It's about taking control of your own life and being responsible for your own body ... I've lived too long to think we can ever solve all the problems of women's healthcare – it's a moving target – but we can and we've got to look beyond the blinders of our own experience, our own religious beliefs, our own upbringing, sometimes our own cherished values, and see and appreciate the differing realities of other peoples' lives.


Retirement

In 1993, after serving as executive director for 27 years, Minto retired from Planned Parenthood. She joined the Brush Foundation board of directors, which she chaired for three years before finally stepping down at the age of 80.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minto, Lee American health activists People from Hamilton, Montana University of Washington alumni University of Montana alumni American abortion-rights activists People associated with Planned Parenthood Sex education advocates People from King County, Washington 1927 births Living people