Harvard Alumnae Fought for Women in Medicine

Mary Catherine Raugust Howell '54, a pioneer fighter for the rights of women in the medical profession, died Feb. 5 of breast cancer, at her home in Watertown, Mass. She was 65.

Howell, a renowned physician, wrote several books on the subject of women and medicine, including Helping Ourselves: Families and the Human Network and Healing at Home: A Guide to Health Care for Children. She also contributed to Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Book by and for Women.

A mother of seven, Howell cared deeply about the role mothers played in the health of their children. She wrote in Healing at Home, "The reassurance that the disease will end, that the child is strong, loved and cared for...is the single most important and universal treatment for all disease."

Howell was born in Grand Forks, N.D. When she was seeking admission to medical schools in Minnesota, school officials discouraged her from applying.

The admissions officer who interviewed her at the state university told her that it would be a waste of taxpayers' money to admit her because she would only get married, drop out of the profession and never practice, the Boston Globe reported on Tuesday.

Howell was ultimately admitted to the medical school and was one of only seven women to remain after her first year.

Howell's trials prompted her to write Why Would a Girl Go Into Medicine? Medical Education in the United States: A Guide for Women, under the pseudonym Margaret A. Campbell. The book, filled with facts about women in the medical field, helped increase the number of women admitted to American medical schools, according to The Globe.

Howell founded the National Women's Health Network and wrote a column for Working Mothers magazine from 1977 to 1987. She also practiced pediatrics in Haverhill and Boston and was a staff member of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Children's Hospital.

Howell began teaching at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in 1969, rising to become an assistant professor of pediatrics. She then served as an associate dean of student affairs from 1972 to 1975. Howell was the highest-ranking woman at HMS at the time.

Howell became a student once again when she graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991. She then became executive director of a private adoption agency in Watertown in 1993.

From 1992 to 1994, Howell also served as a member of the Division of Medical Ethics at HMS.

According to Sam Hooper of the Radcliffe Alumni Records Office, Howell wrote on several occasions for the Radcliffe Quarterly, on the subject of women in the medical field.

Dr. Howell is survived by seven children, Nicholas Jordon of Minneapolis, Samuel Howell of New York, Aaron Howell of Medford, Eli Howell of Eugene, Or., Ned Raugust of Concord, Sarah Howell of Framingham and Eve Howell of Boston; a brother, Tony Raugust of Minneapolis; and a granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on March 8 in Christ Church, Cambridge.