Nurses Alliance Prevention Of Nuclear War

Red cross out over an illustration of a nuclear cloud with hands underneath and black text on a yellow background

The Nurses Alliance for the Prevention of Nuclear War was an organization that represented nurses and nursing educators who created materials and outreach programming on the health dangers surrounding nuclear missiles and nuclear war in the 1980s. 1982 proved to be a year of particular activity for them as they sponsored an antinuclear drive training course at the Harvard School of Public Health in the spring and held a conference titled “Nuclear War - A Nursing Dilemma” at the Boston College School of Nursing on April 17.

Following this period of activity they issued a Statement of Beliefs and Goals which claimed that their commitment as health professionals was not only to preserve human health but also to protect it for all generations. They saw nuclear war as a great threat to this and mobilized to educate fellow nurses and the public about the dangers. Beyond this they are also noted as sharing a similar commitment to peace as the women who set up peace encampments in England and New York protesting the creation of nuclear missiles in the 1980s.