Abortion, Birth Control, Get Involved, Health Care, Reproductive Rights
At the 2018 Birds & The Bees Spring Soiree, coming up on Saturday, Maine Family Planning will proudly bestow the David and Sherry Huber Award to our friends at Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights (GRR!) — a homegrown reproductive rights organization just like us, working to preserve a legacy of choice, access, and Mainers’ right to make decisions about their own health care.
We established the Huber Award to honor groups and individuals deeply engaged in the fight for reproductive health, and GRR! certainly fits that bill. Its members grew up in the ’50s, ’60s, and early ’70s, in the days when women in this country had little or no access to birth control and abortion. Significant progress has been made since then, but with a hostile administration in Washington, DC, that progress is in danger of being eroded. These grandmothers won’t stand for their hard work being erased.
“We all remember when women couldn’t even get contraception,” GRR! founder Judy Kahrl, of Arrowsic, told me. “We remember the days before Roe v. Wade. We don’t want to go backward. But we’re not mired in the past. We are pushing forward, against the misogyny that’s not even hidden anymore—it’s out in the open. And we’re not going to be silent any more. We are fighting for all women, especially our daughters and granddaughters!”
In Maine and beyond, GRR! is using advocacy, education, and direct action to fight back. This award is Maine Family Planning’s way of saying “Thank you.”
“With reproductive rights and family planning in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, we’re fortunate to have GRR! as allies in our fight to preserve reproductive freedom and health care access,” said George A. Hill, president and CEO of Maine Family Planning. “This movement is strongest when it is intergenerational.”
After all, as someone once said: “You don’t mess with grandmothers.”
Come Get Jazzed with us and GRR! on Saturday night! In addition to celebrating our guests of honor, we’ve got scores of amazing silent auction items lined up — everything from swanky overnight getaways to a huge variety package of fireworks. Plus our fantastic raffle, offering the chance to win a five-day excursion to New Orleans! All proceeds benefit Maine Family Planning programs and services. Check out our Facebook event page for a taste of what else is in store.
