During Women’s History Month last year, Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) stood and paid homage to former Sen. Paula C. Hollinger as a trailblazer, especially when it came to women’s reproductive rights.

On Thursday, Hettleman stood again to share thoughts about Hollinger, but this time it was in her memory. Hollinger died Wednesday in Sarasota, Florida, after a short battle with leukemia. She was 85.

“I talked about Sen. Hollinger as somebody who was a role model and a mentor to me and very important to this body,” said Hettleman, who found her prepared remarks about Hollinger from March 6, 2025.

“She was very moved by it. There are so many people here who served with her. Staff who worked with her. Word got back to her in Florida and she was just so thrilled,” Hettleman said of that earlier speech.

“I know she was just so proud of her efforts here. Sending condolences to her family. I’m just sorry for her family’s and all of our loss,” she said.

Hollinger served in the General Assembly for nearly 30 years, first representing District 12 in the House of Delegates from 1979 until 1987, when she began her tenure in the Senate. She served in the Senate until 2007 representing the 11th District, the same as Hettleman.

After Hollinger left the legislature, she worked as an associate director of the health work force in the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene until her retirement in 2015.

“Ahead of her time”

Former colleagues and friends recall that Hollinger’s work as a nurse before she became a lawmaker allowed her to be a staunch advocate for women’s health, fighting for reproductive issues, with an overall passion for her constituents.

Former U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) was Maryland House speaker during the time Hollinger was in the House. Despite her small size — Hollinger was only slightly taller than former U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who was less than 5 feet tall — Cardin said Hollinger was “a force to be reckoned with.”

“She knew how to work the system and get things done. She was a visionary in health care and a great leader,” Cardin said.

One bill Hollinger sponsored in 1983 that eventually became law dealt with the treatment of psychiatric patients.

The “Rights of Mentally Ill Individuals in Facilities” bill ensured that seclusion and restraint could not be used as a form of treatment. Exceptions could be made, according to the bill, if done for an emergency situation, or ordered by a physician or psychologist in writing and “directed by a registered nurse if a physician’s or psychologist’s order is obtained within 8 hours of the action.”

As a senator seven years later, Hollinger in 1990 Hollinger sponsored legislation to codify abortion protections of Roe v. Wade into state law, that passed after an eight-day filibuster by abortion opponents that shut down all other legislative business.

Two years later in 1992, the question was placed on a referendum where voters overwhelmingly approved it 62% to 38%.

That’s why Katie Curran O’Malley, CEO of the Women’s Law Center of Maryland, said Hollinger “was ahead of her time.”

“She was forward-thinking, realizing the need for us to codify reproductive rights here in Maryland in case Roe v. Wade were ever overturned”  – Katie Curran O’Malley, Women’s Law Center of Maryland.

“She was obviously a forward-thinking person realizing the need for us to codify reproductive rights here in Maryland so that we can make sure that if Roe v. Wade were overturned, women and girls would be protected in our state,” O’Malley said Thursday. “I truly will forever be grateful for that work that she did in the Maryland legislature.”

Former state Del. Bill Bronrott, who served between 1999 and 2010 representing District 16 in Montgomery County, said not only did Hollinger’s nursing background offer “a perspective most of us didn’t have,” but she had the ability to smile even when the legislature went through challenges.

“She was a delightful bit of sunshine,” said Bronrott, now a communications consultant.

Before the Senate adjourned Thursday in honor of Hollinger, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said she “was one of the first people that called me” when he was first elected.

“Small stature, mighty warrior,” Ferguson said.

A service for Hollinger will be held Sunday at Sol Levinson’s Chapel in Pikesville.

– This story was first published in Maryland Matters on 3/27/26.