Mary Dent Crisp

Crisp spoke against the party's decision to stop supporting the Equal Rights Amendment in a speech at the 1980 Republican National Convention, after which she announced that she would not seek re-election to her position.

[1] In 1946, Crisp graduated with a degree in botany from Oberlin College then studied political science at Arizona State University.

[2] In 1977, Crisp wrote to every Republican in Congress in order to gain support for a bill that would extend the ERA ratification deadline.

[6] She served on boards for numerous political organizations and "fought to return the Republican Party to what she believed were its ideological roots: individual freedom and limited government".

[6] Mary devoted her life as an ardent feminist to "promoting issues of women's freedom, opportunity, choice, and peace".

In 1989, the Supreme Court in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, restricted federal funding for abortion[8] Crisp then left her position under pressure from supporters of President Ronald Reagan.

[9] In the same year, Crisp co-founded the National Republican Coalition for Choice, where she served as chair and spokesperson, in response to the government's abandonment of the abortion and equal rights.

[4] In addition, she spoke out for federal support for childcare, redressing gender inequities in Social Security, and against job discrimination.