In Harn’s Way: MADD Sued For Discrimination in Removing Drunk Driving Victim Considers to be “Too Disturbing” for Public Events

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is facing a discrimination action by a victim of drunk drivers, who claims that she was removed from public events due to her appearance. A drunk driver left Rose Harn with one working eye, brain damaged, and a shriveled, disfigured body as well as the need for a rag to catch her drool. She alleges that she was told that she was too disturbing to look at for a booth at a state fair in Idaho.

Harn was left brain-damaged and paralyzed by a 16-year-old driver in 1986. The accident severed her brain stem, resulting in an 18 month coma. She has three children. While she can only move her head and blink, her husband Mike Harn, 64, takes her to fairs so that people can see the impact of drunk driving.

The Harns actually went to the Western Idaho Fair on Aug. 19 at MADD’s request. Less than an hour later, a fair employee asked them to leave because Rose Harn was “too graphic.” Her husband was accused of putting her on display. According to the complaint, Miren Aburusa, executive director of MADD Idaho, dropped Harn as a volunteer at the fair on the next day. She insists that she was trying to protect Rose from negative comments and commotion. She also e-mailed county officials an apology “for the problems and inconvenience our booth has caused you.”

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