{"id":206704,"date":"2019-07-17T11:20:51","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T16:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=206704"},"modified":"2019-07-18T15:41:39","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T20:41:39","slug":"three-wrong-ideas-leana-wen-planned-parenthood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/three-wrong-ideas-leana-wen-planned-parenthood\/","title":{"rendered":"Now-fired Planned Parenthood prez Leana Wen had three wrong ideas about her organization"},"content":{"rendered":"
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News that Planned Parenthood<\/a> president Leana Wen had been ousted<\/a> sent shockwaves around the country, with Wen claiming that her firing was determined during a “secret meeting” and was due to “philosophical differences” she had with the board of the abortion corporation.<\/p>\n

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Rumors are swirling about what caused her sudden departure — read more about that here<\/a> — but recent statements including an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post are very revealing… because they show that Wen didn’t really know Planned Parenthood at all.<\/p>\n

Wen thought Planned Parenthood supported all pregnancy choices<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the article, Wen discussed suffering a miscarriage<\/a>, saying it reaffirmed her dedication to abortion<\/a>. “[I] also believed that fulfilling my deep desire to expand our family would send a strong message for the organization I represent<\/strong><\/em>: We support all people in their decisions when and whether to become parents,” she said of her pregnancy. “Then, just as suddenly as they\u2019d come on, my nausea, exhaustion and other symptoms went away. I knew even before I went to my doctor that I\u2019d had a pregnancy loss.”\u00a0She spoke movingly of the emotions she grappled with afterwards, feeling numb and then, guilty, questioning if she had somehow caused the miscarriage. But then\u00a0Wen attempted to link her feelings about her miscarriage to recent laws passed in Alabama<\/a>, Missouri<\/a>, and Georgia<\/a>, which she claimed would mean women could be investigated for miscarriage — a claim Live Action News debunked here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But does<\/em> Planned Parenthood actually “support all people in their decisions when and whether to become parents”? Former Planned Parenthood employees say no. They say the abortion corporation discriminated<\/a> against pregnant employees. According to a previous report<\/a> from Live Action News, “more than a dozen current and former staffers and organizers of\u00a0the Office and Professional Employees International Union… accused the abortion corporation ‘of sidelining, ousting or otherwise handicapping pregnant employees'” and of firing women shortly after giving birth, of ignoring doctor’s notes regarding pregnant staffers, of declining to hire women who were pregnant, and favoring employees who were less likely to become pregnant. In addition, prenatal services<\/a> are practically nonexistent<\/a> at Planned Parenthood, and they won’t even do ultrasounds<\/a> for women who want to give birth to their babies. No, that service is reserved for abortion patients only.<\/p>\n

In other words, Wen may have misjudged her employer. Planned Parenthood isn’t exactly supportive of pregnant women who want to be pregnant.<\/p>\n

Wen thought Planned Parenthood actually wanted to provide health care<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wen, an emergency room physician, wanted to re-position Planned Parenthood as a health care provider, moving away from the political framing of the abortion debate. The statement she released after announcing her ouster said as much:<\/p>\n

I believe that the way to protect abortion care is to be clear that it is not a political issue but a health care one<\/strong>, and that we can expand support for reproductive rights by finding common ground with the large majority of Americans who understand reproductive health care as the fundamental health care that it is.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am leaving because the new Board Chairs and I have philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood.<\/em><\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood has always publicly pushed the idea that its focus is health care, but it appears that having a medical doctor at the helm who wanted to increase the corporation’s actual, legitimate health care services was just too much for the abortion profiteer.<\/p>\n