Cecile Richards Raised Her Three Children to Believe Women Could Do Anything They Wanted

Women's rights advocate Cecile Richards died at the age of 67. She died "surrounded by family and her ever-loyal dog, Ollie," reported NPR, on Jan. 20, 2025 from brain cancer. From 2006 to 2018, Cecile was the president of Planned Parenthood, during which time she "expanded advocacy efforts to include fighting for access to health care," per its website.

Outside of her work, which was both satisfying and daunting, Cecile had a life filled with love and support. She and her husband Kirk Adams met in 1982 while helping to organize hotel workers in New Orleans. They later married and went on to have three kids together. Beyond the legacy she left with her work, Cecile also helped shaped the future within her own family. Let's meet her three extraordinary children.

In her book Make Trouble, Cecile wrote, "Parenting isn’t for everyone, and I will fight to my last breath to protect every person’s right to decide whether to have children. But raising our three kids … is, bar none, the absolute best thing I’ve ever done." An excerpt from her book was published in The Progressive Magazine and focused on the choices she and her husband made regarding their childhoods.

Lily is their oldest, followed by twins Daniel and Hannah. Cecile told a story about how at the age of 3, Daniel said, "When I grow up, I want to be a woman." She attributed this desire to the strong matriarchy that was a staple in their family. When the twins were only 9 months old, Cecile and Kirk were taking them to see the University of Texas Lady Longhorns basketball team. Their coach, Jody Conradt, was the longest-serving women's basketball coach. You can see a pattern developing.

As their children grew up, Cecile and Kirk fought to break the gendered stereotypes they encountered in the world. She cited of an example of how when Hannah was in the Girl Scouts, they sold cookies to raise money, but Daniel's Cub Scouts group didn't have to sell a thing. Their focus was on things like learning about rocket ships or biking around the B&O Canal. Eventually, Daniel was pulled out of the Cub Scouts after they made their feelings about LGBTQ+ members clear.

When Lily Adams joined the Virginia Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Creigh Deeds in 2009, reported the Texas Tribune. As the daughter of Cecile Richards and the granddaughter of Ann Richards, politics was in her blood. She later worked on Hilary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign but after a devastating defeat, she pivoted to then-Senator Kamala Harris's office and helped on her campaign as well. Cecile thought her daughter's political career had endless possibilities.

Hannah went on to work for Change Corps, a non-profit organization dedicated to training activists. She previously ran campaigns for Green Corps such as Food and Water Watch, to stop the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms, and Sierra Club, to retire a coal-fired power plant. According to People Magazine, while in college, Daniel organized a trip to Ohio in order to "rally for Planned Parenthood." Cecile told the outlet, "That made me cry. But it was a good sign."