Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is a feminist author and the co-founder and executive director of MomsRising, a left-of-center activism group. Before she co-founded MomsRising, she was an environmental consultant and worked on other left-of-center causes, particularly environmentalist ones.

Rowe-Finkbeiner is also an advocate for expansive access to abortion. She criticized the December 2021 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to not intervene against pro-life laws that were enacted by the state of Texas. She claims that most women who have abortions are already moms. ¹

Early Life

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Her great-grandmother was the first president of the Rochester, New York chapter of Planned Parenthood. Her grandmother would later work as the president of that chapter. Her mother was also active in the feminist and civil rights movements. ²

Rowe-Finkbeiner attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, studying biochemistry and political economics. She graduated in 1991 ³ and later worked as paralegal for an environmental attorney in Seattle. ⁴

Rowe-Finkbeiner then worked as the political director for the Washington Conservation Voters, and later became president of Washington Environmental Alliance for Voter Education (WEAVE). ⁵

While working at the Washington Conservation Voters, she attended a meeting with then-Republican state senator Bill Finkbeiner at a restaurant in Redmond, Washington to discuss policy issues. The two eventually married. ⁶

Founding MomsRising

In 1996, Rowe-Finkbeiner had a son, who was born with an immune deficiency disorder that required Rowe-Finkbeiner to quit her job. ⁷ She started researching information about stay-at-home moms and writing articles in various motherhood-related publications. ⁸ In 2004, she wrote a provocative manuscript called The F-Word, which was about feminism and how it has become a dirty word. The manuscript was read by MoveOn.org co-founder Joan Blades. ⁹ She then contacted Rowe-Finkbeiner and the two collaborated on the book The Motherhood Manifesto, which called for an expansion of the welfare state and more flexible work conditions. The book was heavily promoted on MoveOn.org and was later turned into a documentary that was screened on Capitol Hill. ¹⁰

On Mother’s Day 2006, Blades and Rowe-Finkbeiner founded MomsRising. The organization was first announced on MoveOn.org’s email list. Rowe-Finkbeiner soon became the executive director of the organization. ¹¹

Advocacy Activities

Rowe-Finkbeiner supports left-progressive legislative goals such as expanding the welfare state, including paid leave for parents. ¹²

She also claims that the wage gap between mothers and non-mothers is due to gender discrimination. In addition, she claims that moms of color experience an even greater wage gap due to structural racism. ¹³

She also supports the creation of cradle-to-grave “care infrastructure” including paid family leave, government-subsidized childcare, government-funded “equitable” health care, and child tax credits. She also called for enacting wage discrimination laws. In an op-ed for CNN supporting an expansion of the welfare state, she attacked Republicans for not supporting welfare state expansion despite talking about families in their speeches. ¹⁴

She is also an advocate of restricting gun rights. Her organization has supported attacks on gun rights on both the state and federal level. ¹⁵

She is also an advocate of expanded immigration and not enforcing immigration laws. ¹⁶

Abortion and Birth Control Mandates

Rowe-Finkbeiner is an advocate for birth control coverage mandates and expansive access to abortion. In 2014, she opposed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hobby Lobby case that limited the application of Obamacare’s mandate that companies had to cover birth control for their employees, describing the company’s stance as part of a set of outdated workplace policies that do not serve the interests of women. ¹⁷

In December 2021, Rowe-Finkbeiner denounced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to take a take a case that sought to vacate pro-life laws in Texas. She claimed that the majority of women who have abortions were already moms, and that the laws would disproportionately harm low-income women and women of color. ¹⁸

Advocating Impeachment

In 2019, Rowe-Finkbeiner and MomsRising released an ad that called for the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump over alleged abuses of power. The ad urged a broad impeachment inquiry. The ad was also backed by the left-of-center groups By the People, MoveOn, and CREDO Action. ¹⁹

1.  “SCOTUS Fails Women Seeking Abortion Care, Again.” Momsrising. Dec. 10, 2021. https://www.momsrising.org/newsroom/scotus-fails-women-seeking-abortion-care-again.
2. Fondas, Nanette. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner: Making Mothers Visible And Powerful.” Ms. Magazine. Mar. 30, 2015. https://msmagazine.com/2015/03/30/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-making-mothers-visible-and-powerful/.
3. [1] Shea, Carolyn. “Rallying The Motherhood Movement.” Evergreen State College. Fall 2013. https://www.evergreen.edu/magazine/2013fall/rallying-the-motherhood-movement.
4. Shea, Carolyn. “Rallying The Motherhood Movement.”  Evergreen State College. Fall 2013. https://www.evergreen.edu/magazine/2013fall/rallying-the-motherhood-movement.
5. Shea, Carolyn. “Rallying The Motherhood Movement.” Evergreen State College. Fall 2013. https://www.evergreen.edu/magazine/2013fall/rallying-the-motherhood-movement.
6. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
7. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
8. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
9. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
10.  Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
11. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
12.  Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
13. Rowe-Finkbeiner, Kristin. “Opinion: This Equal Pay Day, Let’s Smash The Maternal Wall.” CNN. Mar. 15, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/opinions/maternal-wall-challenges-equal-pay-day-rowe-finkbeiner/index.html.
14. Rowe-Finkbeiner, Kristin. “Opinion: This Equal Pay Day, Let’s Smash The Maternal Wall.” CNN. Mar. 15, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/opinions/maternal-wall-challenges-equal-pay-day-rowe-finkbeiner/index.html.
15. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
16. Shapiro, Nina. “Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner Never Expected To Be A Stay-At-Home Mom. Her Own Mother.” Seattle Weekly. June 12, 2014. https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/kristin-rowe-finkbeiner-never-expected-to-be-a-stay-at-home-mom-her-own-mother/.
17. Charbonneau, Chris. “Guest: Hobby Lobby Ruling Puts Bosses’ Values Ahead Of A Woman’s Health.” Seattle Times. July 6, 2014. https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/guest-hobby-lobby-ruling-puts-bossesrsquo-values-ahead-of-a-womanrsquos-health/.
18. “SCOTUS Fails Women Seeking Abortion Care, Again.” Momsrising. Dec. 10, 2021. https://www.momsrising.org/newsroom/scotus-fails-women-seeking-abortion-care-again.
19. [1] “In Powerful New Impeachment-Focused Ad, Children Remind Congress: ‘Our Future Is In Your Hands.’” By The People. Nov. 27, 2019. https://www.bytheppl.us/press-1/2019/11/29/in-powerful-new-impeachment-focused-ad-children-remind-congress-our-future-is-in-your-hands.