Planned Parenthood Southeast hires law firm to probe ‘troubling allegations’ after petition drive

The examination followed the circulation of a save Planned Parenthood Southeast petition that advocates say has garnered over signatures alleging that new leaders have dismantled the organization from the inside Maya Homan Georgia Recorder Planned Parenthood Southeast s board of directors reported this week that it would be hiring a law firm to investigate claims of mismanagement that reproductive fitness advocates say threatens to undermine the organization s mission and has alienated donors and partner organizations The report followed the circulation of a save Planned Parenthood Southeast petition that advocates say has garnered over signatures alleging that new leaders have dismantled the organization from the inside The petition which says it was started by concerned former members and supporters of the organization alleges that Planned Parenthood Southeast has terminated employees dedicated to general approach and organizing and curtailed the organization s emphasis on abortion services and district outreach under interim CEO Mairo Akpos s leadership What was once a trusted institution providing lifesaving reproductive healthcare and fearless advocacy across Georgia Alabama and Mississippi is now under immediate and dangerous threat from within the petition states It also calls for the removal or resignation of Akpos the current board of directors and other leaders hired by Akpos Akpos did not respond to multiple requests for comment by phone Planned Parenthood Southeast s board of directors noted in a comment issued Monday that it was made aware of troubling assertions against its leadership organization the previous week We take these accusations seriously and have retained a nationally recognized law firm to conduct a thorough review the board reported in the message In the interim PPSE remains open for business serving the patients who rely on our services Speaking through a residents relations company the board of directors declined to name the firm saying they sought to ensure the integrity of the process The board also denied that Planned Parenthood Southeast has taken any initiatives to reduce its emphasis on abortion services and revealed they now employ two full-time and six part-time constituents program and advocacy staff members for the three-state area in a announcement issued Thursday However former employees revealed that PPSE leaders had explicitly called for the organization to downplay its focus on abortion Kaylah Oates-Marable who was the Georgia state director at Planned Parenthood Southeast until last month declared Akpos specifically declared that we talk about abortion too much and we put too much emphasis on abortion during a meeting with national Planned Parenthood leaders Georgia law bans the majority abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected which is usually at about six weeks and before majority women know they are pregnant Both Alabama and Mississippi implemented total abortion bans in Oates-Marable and Stephen Stetson who was the organization s director for Alabama and Mississippi until he was terminated from his position last month both mentioned that the organization s new leadership also questioned the need to attend area events like Pride parades in Atlanta and Birmingham which were a key part of the organization s district outreach work They noted leadership would cite budgetary reasons for their decision to pull back from advocacy efforts even when the efforts in question did not come with multiple expenses or were funded by grants The turmoil at Planned Parenthood Southeast comes as the entire Planned Parenthood system has increasingly been targeted by Republican members of Congress In July President Donald Trump signed his tax and spending bill into law which included a provision that prevents certain abortion providers including Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding for physical condition care services unrelated to abortion like annual physicals cancer screenings and STI testing Affiliates in multiple states have closed locations in response to the funding cuts while Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has communicated they will pause abortion services Other affiliates have vowed to remain open albeit without Medicaid funding Both Stetson and Oates-Marable stated the national branch of Planned Parenthood had been made aware of employees concerns with PPSE leadership but that the organization did not step in to address them Each Planned Parenthood local affiliate is an independent non-profit organization with its own board of directors CEO and staff vice president of communications Angela Vasquez-Giroux stated in a message PPFA has no involvement in affiliate hiring or other personnel decisions The affiliate s independent board of directors has the sole responsibility for personnel decisions concerning an affiliate CEO or other affiliate staff The outcry has pushed particular backers to withhold donations Carolyn Smith an Atlanta resident and longtime Planned Parenthood Southeast donor who has been volunteering with the organization since commented she is rethinking her endorsement I m not donating to them until I know for sure that leadership of our Planned Parenthood Southeast is leadership that shares a progressive political lens that supports women s rights that supports non-binary rights that supports the rights of the people that never get a voice she mentioned Particular reproductive rights groups are also beginning to alert their supporters to changes within the organization In a post on Instagram Planned Parenthood Young Leaders of Savannah a fundraising group dedicated to engaging future reproductive wellness advocates reported that it is disaffiliating from Planned Parenthood Southeast entirely and has changed its name to the South Georgia Reproductive Justice Coalition On Oct the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation a nonprofit that provides reproductive medical care in Atlanta put out a press release arguing that the changes closely align with Project s agenda to dismantle reproductive rights and soundness infrastructure Stetson the former Alabama and Mississippi state director noted the problems facing the organization might be a matter of bad leadership rather than ideological divides But intentional or not he added the changes have damaged the organization s credibility with other reproductive rights groups leaving rifts that may be complex to repair The line between malice and incompetence can be very blurry and at the end of the day the aftermath is that the work isn t getting done Stetson stated Georgia Recorder deputy editor Ross Williams and reporter Alander Rocha and States Newsroom reproductive rights reporter Sofia Resnick contributed to this statement The post Planned Parenthood Southeast hires law firm to probe troubling statements after petition drive appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta