Nancy Keenan (born February 14, 1952) is an American politician, and since 2015 the executive director of the

Montana Democratic Party Montana Democratic Party (MDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Montana and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party as of 2021 is chaired by Robyn Driscoll. The National Committeeman is Jorge ...

. Prior to that, she was elected to several terms in the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

(1983–1989) and as superintendent of the Montana Office of Public Instruction (1989–2001). She also served as president of the abortion rights organization

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to a ...

from 2004 to 2013.

Biography

Keenan was born in

Anaconda, Montana Anaconda, county seat of Deer Lodge County, which has a consolidated city-county government, is located in southwestern Montana, United States. Located at the foot of the Anaconda Range (known locally as the "Pintlers"), the Continental Divi ...

to Ann and P. J. Keenan. She earned an undergraduate degree in education from

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

and a master's degree from 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 ...

. Keenan began her career as a special-education teacher before winning election to the

. In 1988 she won the first of three terms as the statewide elected Superintendent of the Montana Office of Public Instruction. She served until 2000. In 2000, Keenan ran for

Montana's at-large congressional district Montana is represented in the United States House of Representatives by one at-large congressional district, among the 435 in the United States Congress. The district was the most populous U.S. congressional district, with just over 1 million c ...

seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. She was defeated by Republican

Denny Rehberg Dennis Ray Rehberg (born October 5, 1955) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1991 to 1997 and as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. Rehberg was the Rep ...

. From 2003-2004, Keenan worked as the Education Policy Director of the organization People For the American Way (PFAW). Keenan became president of NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2004. As president, Keenan advocated for access to

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

, but she has also attempted to change the nature of the debate around abortion rights issues in the United States. For example, in 2006, she said that while

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

and

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respo ...

people don't agree on

"we should be able to agree that we can reduce unintended pregnancies" by (as a NARAL ad stated) "guaranteeing women's access to birth control, including the 'morning-after' pill, making sure our kids receive honest, realistic

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduct ...

, and increasing support for family-planning services." In a speech presented on the 35th anniversary of

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and ...

, Keenan asked supporters to acknowledge "a woman's right to choose is a morally complex issue, and a lot less black and white than it's been made out to be." She discussed the pro-choice position in terms of moral values. She reiterated the position that reducing unintended pregnancy is a "core moral value" in her speech at the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The conve ...

. On August 22, 2012, it was announced that she would be a speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. In April 2015, it was announced that Keenan would take over as executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, effective April 20, 2015. ''Washingtonian Magazine'' named Nancy Keenan as one of the 100 most powerful women in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in 2006. She has appeared on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politic ...

and other news broadcasts, and is frequently quoted by ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

, and other news services.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Nancy 1952 births American feminists American abortion-rights activists Living people Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Montana State University alumni People for the American Way people People from Anaconda, Montana Superintendents of Public Instruction of Montana University of Montana alumni Women state legislators in Montana