Roses for Roe Champions Reproductive Rights
Samantha Schoenbaum and Jennifer Babbit Bodner co-chaired the pro-choice rally for Planned Parenthood.
After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.
Roses for Roe began in January 2015 with a gathering of friends who wanted to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that made abortion a federally protected right, by raising money for Planned Parenthood Southeast (PPSE).
From those humble beginnings, Roses for Roe has consistently grown, becoming PPSE’s second-largest annual fundraiser and raising almost half a million dollars since 2015. The goal to mark this 10th anniversary of Roses for Roe in 2025 was to raise $100,000 for PPSE at an event held at The Temple on Jan. 23, where every dollar contributed went to support women’s reproductive healthcare in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Commenting on the gathering of friends was outspoken doyenne, honoree, and presenter, Elaine Alexander, who told the AJT, “It wasn’t just any ‘gathering,’ but a group of young women who were picking up their children at The Temple preschool pondering how they could do something constructive.”
Event chairs Jennifer Babbit Bodner and Samantha Schoenbaum were the founders; previous chairs were Wendi Aspes, Andrea Christopher, Jaci Effron, Julia Filson, Maya Goldman, Nicole Horwitz, Erin Krinsky, Karen Luscher, Romy Maloon, Marissa Rosenbloom, Jessica Rothbeind, and Justine Rubin.
The group’s official statement released prior to the event was, “Since Georgia’s abortion ban was implemented … we have endured tragic reports of women senselessly dying after being denied abortion care. We have felt the demoralizing impact of a regressive law that criminalizes abortions, forces pregnancy, and disproportionately harms poor women and women of color. With the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election, our fight for abortion rights and bodily autonomy has become an urgent matter of life and death.”
Five hundred women in pink brought a lot of “estrogen energy” to the rally. Actress Elaine Hendrix served as emcee, ready to “raise hell and money,” alongside her admittedly corny jokes.
Temple Rabbi Lydia Medwin spoke of Judaism’s belief in the right and moral obligation to protect “life givers.” She suggested a vision of living in a refugia, where hidden life will regrow over time as a new ecosystem [referring to the recent election] blooms.”
Representing PPSE, Karen Doolittle spoke of their recent accomplishments in doubling the number of tele-health patients and media strategy. With 600 health care centers, more than two million patients have been seen. Next, she introduced “Badass” Alex Johnson, CEO of Planned Parenthood, to give “marching orders.” She said, “We are ready for a fight … Hope is the art of resistance! Our bodies are ungovernable … it’s nobody’s damn business. With 19 million supporters, Planned Parenthood doesn’t back down.”
Alexander introduced Charles Johnson who won the award named in Alexander’s honor Johnson founded his own nonprofit, 4Kira4Moms, in memory of his late wife who died in 2016 when she allegedly “wasn’t treated properly in an Los Angeles hospital because of her skin color.”
Johnson told the history of his uncle, a black doctor in Boston, who was arrested for manslaughter for performing an abortion, which was later overturned and precedent setting.
Next up was Avery Davis Bell, who told her own harrowing tale of losing a fetus and having to wait until she was near death to get lifesaving surgery. She said, “The doctors had to go through hoops. My suffering was prolonged while I was on my portal, reading my labs hoping that my blood count would get worse, so the procedure could be done … It was worth my trauma. I would do it all over again. I can’t yet look at my late son’s one-inch footprint … This is not one size fits all. Doctors have a hard job. My body was used as a tomb.”
Bodner and Schoenbaum closed the event by sharing, “We can’t have rights taken away. We have grown in numbers and outrage. Money talks. Don’t give until it hurts, give until it feels good. Take a rose home after you wave it and make a donation.”
Schoenbaum told the AJT, “To look out and see everyone raising their roses high, we well exceeded our goal and raised over $150,000. It filled me with such hope for the future. What a sensational evening!”
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