The National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN), since its inception in 1969 has been an advocate for social and structural change inside and outside the Catholic Church. It represents from 500 to 2,000 U.S. women religious. Membership is not restricted to nuns or Catholics.
The NCAN has long advanced the idea that women should be fully welcomed into the church including the priesthood. Its position on the issues of abortion, homosexuality, and women clerics have put it at odds with the U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops. Sister Donna Quinn, the coordinator of the NCAN, has been known for "escorting women through a gauntlet of protesters" at abortion clinics. Quinn calls herself "a feminist and an activist and proud of it." Sister Mary Ann Cunningham of Denver, a NCAN board member, says they are an alternative to the church hierarchy's positions on public issues. The organization supports the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
NCAN was founded by Margaret Traxler in 1969. NCAN received notice when Sisters Traxler, Donna Quinn, Ann Patrick Ware, and Deborah Barrett appeared, in 1982, on the Phil Donahue Show opposing legislation that limited abortion.