Ralph E. Brown

Biographical Information
Ralph E. Brown (died in 2008). ""With others, he started Citizens for the Extension of Birth Control Services and Information, which lobbied to make advice on birth control part of public health programs.

"Later, he was among the founders of Illinois Citizens for Medical Control of Abortion, which argued for safe and legal access to the procedure in the days before Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court case legalizing abortion. He later helped start the Midwest Population Center, which provided information on vasectomies and helped arrange the surgery for men in the early 1970s.

"Mr. Brown's motivations were varied, but "it was all tied up with overpopulation," his wife said.

"After leaving the public defender's office in 1965, Mr. Brown ran a solo legal practice in the Loop for 10 years before becoming a partner in the firm of Walsh, Case & Brown. In 1989 the firm merged into Schuyler Roche, where he remained of counsel at the time of his death."