Sara Feigenholtz's political interests and activity, notably in the areas of adoption, women's issues and health care, reflect her personal experience and family background. Her adoptive mother, Florence Buky, an immigrant from Białystok, Poland, worked her way through medical school to become an obstetrician. Many of Dr. Buky's patients were unable to care for their children and this was how she came to adopt Sara and her brother. Feigenholz attributes the origin of her political commitment to health care as a basic right to the childhood experience of patients calling to see Dr. Buky at the family home in Lake View, Chicago, and her mother never turning anyone away, even those unable to pay.