Anne Nicol Gaylor

Anne Nicol Gaylor
Play media Anne Gaylor: "A Second Look At Religion"
Born	Anne Nicol (1926-11-25)November 25, 1926 Tomah, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	June 14, 2015(2015-06-14) (aged 88) Fitchburg, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupation	Activist; founder of the Freedom From Religion Foundation

Anne Nicol Gaylor (November 25, 1926 – June 14, 2015) was an American atheist and reproductive rights advocate. She co-founded the Freedom from Religion Foundation and an abortion fund for Wisconsin women. She wrote the book Abortion Is a Blessing and edited The World Famous Atheist Cookbook. In 1985 Gaylor received the Humanist Heroine Award from the American Humanist Association, and in 2007 she was given the Tiller Award by NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Anne Nicol was born to Jason Theodore and Lucy Edna (née Sowle) Nicol on November 25, 1926, near Tomah, Wisconsin. Her mother died when Anne was two years old. Anne Nicol graduated from high school at age 16 and earned an English degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in May, 1949. She married Paul Joseph Gaylor the same year, and they had four children: Andy, Annie Laurie, Ian, and Jamie.

Gaylor started the first private employment agency in Madison, Wisconsin, which she sold in 1966. She then became editor of the Middleton Times-Tribune.

In 1967, while editor of the Times-Tribune, Gaylor wrote an editorial calling for legalized abortion in Wisconsin. She later joined the Association for the Study of Abortion, the Wisconsin Committee to Legalize Abortion, and Zero Population Growth. In 1970 first-trimester abortions were legalized in Wisconsin, and she began the Zero Population Growth Referral Service to refer women to abortion providers. However, there were still few doctors who provided abortions in the state, so Gaylor often referred women to Mexico and New York. She also served on the Board of Directors of NARAL, now known as NARAL Pro-Choice America.