Planned Parenthood expansion in Owensboro?
The ultimate decision of whether they come and stay in Owensboro is up to the people of that community
From, The Kentucky Citizen Digest, July/August, 2002.

Despite public sentiment against it, Planned Parenthood appears to be pushing ahead with plans to open a center in Owensboro. News of the possible expansion drew vocal protest from Owensboro residents who say Planned Parenthood is not needed or welcome in their community.

Director of the Green River District Health Department Lamone Mayfield said that she was never contacted by Planned Parenthood to see if there was a need for its services. "We don't believe they could offer anything we [don’t] already," Mayfield said. "They are working under the guise that there is community support here. They are not coming here to meet a need but to further their agenda." The only thing the health department doesn't offer is abortion, which Mayfield says isn't needed in Owensboro anyway.

But such resistance won’t impact the agency’s decision said Ted Clingner, executive director of Louisville Planned Parenthood. "We'd like to have supporters in the community," Clingner told the local newspaper. "Honestly, the decision will be on the basis of what we perceive is the need. Once we make up our mind to go ahead, we'll go ahead."

One reason Owensboro is being eyed for expansion according to Clingner "is because the local health department has not made emergency contraception (EC) as available as much as we’d like to see."

But Judy Gilmore, director of nursing at the Green River District Health Department says their department does offer EC, which is required by law. "However when we dispense emergency contraceptives," Gilmore said, " it is done in a very discriminating way. We do not promote EC in the community."

The possibility of a Planned Parenthood-sponsored abortion clinic in Western Kentucky has some in the pro-life community concerned. The Action Life League (ALL) of Western Kentucky is spearheading a rally for life in mid-June where they hope to draw hundreds to oppose Planned Parenthood. The group is also coordinating a petition campaign where opponents’ signatures will be printed in the local newspaper.

In late September last year, Planned Parenthood tested the waters of public opinion in Owensboro when they set up a booth at a three-day event called Women's Escapade where members handed out brochures and promotional material. Linda Powe, Owensboro resident and member of Planned Parenthood, said that most people responded positively.

"She didn't get a positive response from me," said Julie Lake, President of ALL. Lake, who represents one of five local pro-life and pro-family organizations who are opposing attempts by Planned Parenthood to move in, told Powe that she did not believe Planned Parenthood would be an asset for the community. "It is arrogant and presumptuous for them to think they can move into a community without widespread support," Lake said.

Jim Askins, a Daviess County resident, says that many people are not aware of Planned Parenthood's agenda. "They say sex outside of marriage is okay and circumvent the parent/child relationship when it comes to sex education and dispensing birth control," he said. But Askins said his biggest objection is that Planned Parenthood is the largest single abortion provider in the country, performing 2.8 million abortions since 1977.

Clingner, downplayed the abortion aspect in an interview with the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. "There are people in Owensboro who have an interest [in us]. We are looking at what kind of services we could offer there." The agency is going through a strategic planning process, Clingner said, and in looking at expanding their services in Kentucky, Owensboro-Daviess County tops its list, but the final decision will not be made until mid-summer.

Critics say Planned Parenthood’s interest in Owensboro is purely economic. The organization appears to be revamping since it lost 50 affiliates in 1998 alone, down from a high of 900 according to Stop Planned Parenthood International Director Ed Szymkowiak. In order for them to grow, Szymkowiak said, "they get your kids interested in sex…[and eventually] they will get more birth control customers."

But the 85-year-old organization hasn't been able to expand beyond three cities in Kentucky--Lexington, Louisville, and Berea. Opponents in Owensboro hope it stays that way.