In 1980, the Feminist Health Center of Portsmouth opened its doors at Court and Pleasant and immediately became a target of protest. It was founded by women who believed that access to care, privacy, and dignity are rights, not privileges. They offered contraception, counseling, and medical care when few others would — including abortion and AIDS testing at a time of fear and misunderstanding, when many institutions turned people away.

The opposition grew louder. Protesters gathered, and even bomb threats were called in. One defining memory for me was hearing that my Aunt Mary — then on the City Council and later mayor — supported the center even as she was no longer welcome at church. By 1986, the center was forced to leave Portsmouth. But it did not close. It found strength and a new ho

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