Faye Wattleton

Faye Wattleton (born Alyce Faye Wattleton; 8 July 1943) is an American reproductive rights activist who was the first African American and the youngest president ever elected of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the first woman since Margaret Sanger to hold the position. She is currently Co-founder & Director at EeroQ, a quantum computing company. She is best known for her contributions to family planning and reproductive health, and the reproductive rights movement.

Early life and childhood Wattleton was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1943, the only child of a construction worker father and a mother who was a seamstress and a Church of God minister. During her childhood, her mother's calling meant that the family traveled frequently, and Wattleton saw the emotional effect her mother's preaching had on congregation. For eight years Wattleton stayed with family members and friends while her parents traveled for work. Although her mother never approved of her work in reproductive rights, Wattleton considers the principle of nonjudgment espoused by the faith of her upbringing to have had a deep impact on her future work in family planning.

Education and early career Faye Wattleton attended Ohio State University at the age of 16. She was awarded a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1964, and went on to teach at a nursing school in Dayton, Ohio for two years. While in nursing school, Wattleton worked at the Children's Hospital in Columbus. There she cared for children who were abused, neglected, and sick with diseases. Due to her interest in children born with drug addictions inherited from their using mothers, Wattleton did her master's thesis on phototoelectrophoresis, the medical term for the test used to screen pregnant mothers for drug use so that a baby can be treated for withdrawal immediately.

While working toward her master's degree, she interned at a hospital in Harlem. The legal status of abortion was now on the political agenda. Wattleton accomplished a major victory for Dayton's Planned Parenthood when she began a successful initiative to provide teenagers with contraceptives without their parent's consent. This was momentous and allowed for the creation of clinics where abortions could take place to rise in communities around the country. Three years later in Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, the Supreme Court rejected a lower court ruling that had upheld a Missouri law requiring, among other things, the consent of a women's husband for an abortion. The purpose of this center was to "promote strategies for dismantling the obstacles that impede full equality for women". In 2017, Wattleton Co-Founded EeroQ Quantum Computing with Nick Farina and Michigan State Professor Johannes Pollanen.

Personal life In 1970, Faye Wattleton's Parents moved to Texas where her mother preached at a small congregation outside of Houston.

Books and awards In 1986, the American Humanist Association named her Humanist of the Year.

In 1992, Wattleton received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

She was a 1993 inductee into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

In 1996, she published her autobiography, Life on the Line. Wattleton wanted to show people why she became an advocate for reproductive health. The book highlights important moments in her career.

In 2004, Wattleton won the Fries Prize for Improving Health.

Other awards that she received include: American Public Health Association's Award of Excellence; the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Humanitarian Award; Independent Sector's John Gardner Award; and the Women's Honors in Public Service from the American Nurses Association.

Wattleton served on the Boards for Estée Lauder Companies, Quidel Corporation, Bio-Technology General, Yellowbox.com, Empire Blue Cross & Blue Shield, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Institute for International Education and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Wattleton has also received 15 honorary doctoral degrees.