Jon O'Brien, President, Catholics for Choice.
Photo Credit: Eric Haase.  This picture is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without the express permission of Catholics for Choice.

Jon O'Brien, President
Catholics for Choice

Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice (CFC), heads the leading prochoice organization addressing sexual and reproductive rights from a standpoint of culture, faith, and morality. Mr. O’Brien is committed to maintaining a visionary approach to reproductive health policy, focused on shaping and advancing the way people, especially opinion leaders and policy makers, think about these issues. Through his leadership, he promotes the organization’s goal of a creating a world where all women and men are trusted to make responsible decisions about their lives. Mr. O’Brien speaks clearly and cogently against the challenges to sound reproductive rights and health policy put forward by the powerful Catholic hierarchy, which uses every means at its disposal, including financial strength, political clout, false claims of universal acceptance of its positions by Catholics, or outright threats to punish or publicly shame those who don’t follow its edicts.

With more than 20 years experience in the field, Mr. O’Brien is a leader in developing global strategies on improving reproductive health and rights. He has worked on five continents with local advocates and activists on policy development, advocacy and communications. Highly sought after for his expertise, Mr. O’Brien has increased communications and advocacy efficacy in the reproductive rights and health movement working with partners around the world—including family planning associations, medical practitioners, prochoice advocates, nonprofit leaders, and policy makers—to develop new ways to approach and discuss the abortion debate.

During more than a decade with Catholics for Choice, Mr. O’Brien helped shape the tone of the organization’s international and domestic programs, and developed CFC’s expanding domestic outreach program to prochoice, Catholic legislators in the United States. Decision makers, including members of the UK House of Parliament, federal and state legislators in the US, members of the European Parliament and of national parliaments across Europe, often call upon him to articulate the prochoice, Catholic perspective to inform critical policy debates. Mr. O’Brien’s insights have stimulated discussion on reproductive rights and health through his frequent contributions in articles and opinion pieces in print media including the New York Times, the Economist, the International Herald Tribune, the Independent (UK) and the National Catholic Reporter, as well as through his appearances on CNN and BBC, among many other news outlets.

A life-long Catholic born and raised in the Republic of Ireland, Mr. O’Brien’s initial involvement in reproductive rights was sparked by his reaction to the great injustices that women especially face as a result of the Catholic hierarchy’s influence over public policy in the country. He began his professional career with the Irish Family Planning Association, where he worked on the front lines of reproductive health provision and was instrumental in developing the strategy that successfully engineered the downfall of Ireland’s restrictive contraceptive laws. Before coming to CFC, Mr. O’Brien worked as program manager at the International Planned Parenthood Federation’s European Bureau in London, overseeing the establishment of family planning clinics in Eastern Europe during a time of immense political and social turmoil. Mr. O’Brien has been honored by the International Parliamentarians Conference on ICPD, recognized as a “Key to Choice” by Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, and received the Abby J. Leibman Pursuit of Justice Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Women’s Law Center in 2007.

 

---

back to top