It’s not often that we see abortion advocates publicly fighting amongst themselves. Even more rare is to see a fight break out within Planned Parenthood’s workforce.
The abortion industry has generally kept internal conflict behind the scenes. Planned Parenthood has been particularly successful at portraying a façade of high professional standards and a united front.
That is until a revolt developed within the ranks of Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliate.
Cohesive is not a word that describes Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY), boasting 28 locations and 900 employees.
Staff said they had been working with management internally for 18 months to right their listing ship, to no avail. As a result, hundreds of current and former employees of PPGNY went public with a letter, explicitly detailing their complaints.
An $18 million surplus that evaporated into an even larger projected deficit opened CEO Laura McQuade to accusations of financial mismanagement, including awarding lucrative contracts to close friends. McQuade was also accused of discrimination against pregnant employees and creating an atmosphere of “fear and intimidation.”
The PPGNY board at first sided with their embattled CEO when the letter was made public, but as the controversy grew, they decided to part ways with McQuade.
Still, a thorny and persistent issue remains at the heart of the controversy that will require more than firing their top executive. Charges of “systemic racism” have prevailed as the dominant theme of concern.
The public letter read, “Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist, white woman. That is part of history that cannot be changed.” And it acknowledged the problem of racism is not limited to its past. “We know that Planned Parenthood has a history and a present steeped in white supremacy…” (emphasis added)
Additional concerns of racism by staff were revealed in a Jezebel online article. The detailed allegations were stunning in nature and provided an internal confirmation of what the pro-life movement has been saying for years.
Some came forward out of a genuine belief that they are serving fellow Black women—even though abortion arguably does not serve women or their babies.
One of those altruistic staffers was Michelle Adams who described an initiative promoting long-lasting contraceptives such as IUD’s in Black and Hispanic schools, as “white saviorism,” adding, “It’s a direct link to the history of forced sterilization.”
Another worried that McQuade’s “revenue-driven, assembly-line approach…put patients, and in particular Black and other patients of color, at potential risk.”
Employees pointed to “a lack of upward mobility for Black staff” which, according to them had previously existed but became more prevalent since McQuade’s arrival as CEO. Black workers, they said, serve as window dressing, while those who ascend the corporate ladder are part of a “whitewashed” environment.
A staffer said, “For me, this is really about treating people like they’re disposable, and using Black staff for our labor and then discarding us. It’s very much in the playbook of white supremacy.”
The sentiment was echoed by a Black clinician who stated, “White supremacy is still so embedded into the function of the organization.”
Planned Parenthood’s racist roots are deeply embedded in eugenicist Margaret Sanger who referred to minorities as “weeds … overrunning the human garden.” She labeled them as “morons, misfits, and the maladjusted;” and advocated for the sterilization of “genetically inferior races.”
Obviously, Sanger’s documented history has not gone unnoticed by those who work for the abortion giant. However, an effort, supported by staff, to change the name of Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger Health Center in Manhattan fell on deaf ears.
Sanger’s racist agenda lives on in Planned Parenthood’s current business model. 79% of their abortion facilities are within walking distance of Black and/or Hispanic neighborhoods. The Guttmacher Institute, initially founded to be the research arm of Planned Parenthood, has reported that Black women are nearly five times more likely to have an abortion than white women.
A new light is shining on Planned Parenthood’s deadly and racist agenda, admittedly from an unexpected source. Regardless, we welcome every revelation that exposes the underbelly of legal abortion in America.
Sincerely for the babies,
Brad Mattes,
President, Life Issues Institute
Brad, thank you for presenting this information. The mainstream media will ignore or brush off stories of this nature for favored groups like PP, but the truth ultimately prevails.
Excellent article. I wish more people knew more about
Margaret Sanger.
It is hard to imagine a woman, doing this crime of bribery and maybe fornication against so many people. Others who commit this crime are tried and probably go to prison. What makes her so special that she does not make worldwide news.??????
Hello Brad:
Thanks for all you and the LII team have done for life all these years. Out here in the Twin Cities the workers have had “Informational picketing”. Their picketing signs have small adhesive strips stating they are not declaring a work stoppage. More money and benefits to kill children, that’s what they’re really about.