Pro-Life Pioneer Jean Doyle Leaves Legacy of Dedication

When pro-abortion forces first began their push to liberalize Florida's abortion laws in 1971, a handful of concerned pro-life citizens traveled to Tallahassee to lobby the Florida legislature against the measure. Their efforts led them to realize the need for a unified statewide effort to prevent pro-abortion attacks on unborn children.

Among those concerned citizens was Jean Doyle, a mother of three from Orlando, who knew that if such pro-abortion efforts were successful in Florida, as they had been in New York and California, it was only a matter of time until pro-abortion forces swept the country. She quickly committed herself to working tirelessly to ensure that unborn children were granted protection under the law.

Jean's passion for life and commitment to unborn children lead her to take up the reins of leadership in the pro-life movement.

She selflessly served as Florida's director to National Right to Life from 1974-1991 and twice served as executive director of Florida Right to Life (1973-1982 and 1986-1991). Her involvement also led her to national leadership, where she served as NRLC Chairman of the Board from 1979-1981, NRLC Executive Vice President from 1981-1983, and as NRLC President from 1983-1984.

On May 22, Jean Doyle, a true champion for unborn children, passed away at age 72 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. For those who knew and worked with Jean, her death leaves a notable absence. But for all of us in the movement, Jean left a legacy of dedication to the pro-life cause, encouraging and guiding all of us in our fight to restore legal protection to unborn children.

What follows is an article published June 4, 2003, in the Orlando Sentinel. It was written by Linda Rooks, a past president of Central Florida Right to Life and a close friend of Jean.

The first time I saw Jean Doyle, she was sitting behind a slide projector in a meeting room at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Altamonte Springs. With her soft-spoken voice, crisp Northeastern accent and keen sensitivity, she eloquently presented facts about abortion, which forever changed the perspective of her audiences.

Jean was a gentle pioneer who saw the handwriting on the wall even before the Roe v. Wade decision was issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. More than a year earlier, she and two others started what today is known as Florida Right to Life. In the late '70s, she and Jack Willke met with Ronald Reagan in his home for a half-hour appointment that grew into a four-hour meeting and set in motion a new story in history. The Ronald Reagan who emerged from that meeting became the first pro-life president in the United States and put abortion on the front pages of our newspapers. In 1983, Jean became president of National Right to Life and met with important leaders all over the world, including Mother Teresa and, subsequently, George Bush senior, who was deeply affected by her message.

No one knew what a baby in the womb looked like in those years before ultrasound, so Jean helped us picture it. To the ugly subject of abortion, she brought grace and sensitivity. Never did she force anyone to see the horrors of abortion, but, if they were willing, she showed them the terrible truth. Mild-mannered, poised and soft-spoken, she was gracious even to her adversaries. For years, Jean Doyle was the heart and soul of a movement bringing awareness of the unborn to the people of Florida.

Her belief and commitment to the cause became her passion in life and never waned. After she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, I visited her in the nursing home. Her tearful greeting told me she knew me, but I also could see that her understanding of my words was only fleeting and temporary. She had a penchant for walking, and I walked briskly with her through the halls of the nursing home, reminding her as we went how much she had meant to me, how I admired and respected her, and how she had been my mentor. Turning the pages of a picture album, I reminisced about some of our ventures together. At one poignant moment, she looked at me with a deep look of distress in her eyes. "We never did it, did we?" "What, Jean? We never did what?" "We never saved the babies?" "We saved a lot of them, Jean, but not all," I said.

On May 22, a noble and gracious lady passed from this life. She was 72. Somehow I believe that, when she entered through that heavenly gate on the other side, crowds of children walked beside her, celebrating the life of a great champion who stood up for them against the throes of public opinion, a woman who never tired, never gave up, always persevered.