Volume 5, Issue 3

A Vision For Planned Parenthood For The 21st Century

By The Reverend Stephen J. Mather

Last January, members of the Planned Parenthood family began the process of defining the vision that would help Planned Parenthood determine its path over the next 25 years so that the federation, together with the affiliates, could establish exactly what it is we want to accomplish by the year 2025. The paper that is summarized below was written as a contribution to that process.

I am indebted to Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, for my theme. He pointed out that the Hebrew prophets invited their contemporaries to envision an alternative to the dictates of the prevailing culture. And that, I submit, is what Planned Parenthood must do.

We can and should demonstrate that the values that inspired our movement reflect the fundamental religious values on which the moral foundations of our society are based. Yet, as a society, we seem to have forgotten the classic "texts" that gave us notions of fair play, egalitarian impulses, basic democratic structures, and a quest for justice. A clearer expression of how Planned Parenthood values flow from these convictions is needed, especially since opponents charge that women seek abortion or practice birth control for selfish reasons.

We can take our lesson about how to meet this challenge from the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. He tied his message to the core values found in the documents that gave birth to the "city set upon a hill." In dreaming his dream of what such a truly American city would look like, Dr. King embarrassed white Americans with their own values, drawn from the Bible and the faith proclamations that were given voice by Abraham Lincoln. He saw his work as life changing, as achieving a kind of conversion to a belief in a vision that would energize a public yearning to remember its American heritage and to experience it anew.

This seems to be exactly the quest for Planned Parenthood — to provide a vision of a world, to offer a new text that is, in reality, a reformulation of the old, with obvious connections to the foundational principles of this nation. This is, in part, a rhetorical challenge. By our failure to carefully craft a text, the religious right appears to be the only army on the side of righteousness. Yet, it is our message that takes seriously a vision of freedom exercised by people in concert with their conscience, and their God (if they have one.) And it is therefore our message that reflects our national heritage.

Planned Parenthood holds out the promise of making reproductive choice a meaningful option everywhere in the world. It signifies a view of human beings as morally autonomous entities, deserving basic respect. Make no mistake, this is revolutionary news, indeed. And particularly for those that Planned Parenthood has always sought to serve, starting with women and families on the margins of society who cannot claim to be self-autonomous, but who, nevertheless, face critical decisions about their lives, particularly about reproductive choices. With the power to make and exercise these choices, no one need suffer under the constraints imposed by all-knowing "authorities." Women, in particular, are set free to believe and act according to their own consciences.

I sometimes think that our opponents have a better understanding of the ultimate consequences of our movement than we do. They recognize that the Planned Parenthood mission represents an alternative way to promote a new humanity that is, ironically, more consistent with justice models permeating the Bible than they would care to admit. Indeed, Planned Parenthood is engaged in nothing less than a prophetic and social action ministry. Our vision is of a world in which people are valued for their innate worth and deserving of what the Hebrew prophets called "hesed" (translated as loving kindness, non-judgmental, unconditional affirmation.)

As Margaret Sanger realized and as those who have been cut down in the course of this ministry make clear, this is a risky business. As we formulate a vision for the 21^st century, the courage that Margaret Sanger and the early pioneers of the birth control movement exhibited and the determination of those who today serve on the frontlines in the face of persistent opposition continue to inspire us. Today's opponents may be gone tomorrow, but what they represent remains — fear and ignorance that betray a lack of trust in human beings to use their knowledge to build better lives.

In addition, we cannot be complacent, although we can be very proud that our efforts have contributed to a major shift in American society in a very short time. As we gear up to provide new dimensions of service in our communities and to reach new and diverse populations, we must carefully examine and critically evaluate each new endeavor.

Finally, if we are calling ourselves to a new world that is consistent with the history of Planned Parenthood, then we must let nothing detract us from the single-minded passion for our mission. This will become increasingly critical, as our organization is increasingly identified as the source of a bold dream for humanity that many will share and others will fear as a threat to their power and ideology. Thus, we will continue to have enemies, and we must be clear in our conviction that the promise of a new world is worth the tensions that will surely come.

Today's young people may not always appreciate how the work of those who dared to dream these things succeeded in achieving greater equality for women and reproductive freedom for all of us. Yet, it is likely that tomorrow's leaders will produce even greater works of courage and devotion springing from the visions of the present leadership who, themselves, stood resolutely on the shoulders of those visionaries before them.

Rev. Mather is a member of the board of PPFA and of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board. For a copy of the complete paper, with a full explication of the ideas summarized here, please call (212) 261-4721.

PPFA Clergy Advisory Board Statement On Hospital Mergers

We, the members of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Clergy Advisory Board, represent a diverse group of clergy and lay leaders who come from every segment of American society.

We oppose any and all hospital mergers that, on religious grounds, would deprive a community of a full range of reproductive health care and other selected services and thereby leave patients with unacceptable or no treatment options. Such mergers are unjust and, therefore, unconscionable.

Volunteers, local donors, government funds, and certain tax benefits all help to support our hospitals, including those sponsored by religious institutions. Consequently, religiously affiliated hospitals have an obligation to provide for the basic health care needs of all members of the community and with due respect for the diversity of their religious beliefs. Mergers involving Roman Catholic, Baptist, and Seventh-Day Adventist hospitals, but especially Catholic hospitals because they are so numerous, may result in large numbers of medical centers that fail to meet this obligation.

Catholic hospitals have received well-earned accolades for providing quality health care services, especially to the poor and indigent in our society. (Indeed, 127 Planned Parenthood affiliates, with 875 clinics across the country that provide medical services to nearly 2.5 million clients each year, are also devoted to meeting the needs of this population.)

The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services set a very high standard for the medical care that Catholic hospitals are permitted to render their patients. It is deeply regrettable that these same directives also prohibit Catholic hospitals, and any non-Catholic hospital absorbed through merger, from meeting the needs of all of the members of the communities they serve. The directives prohibit artificial insemination, tubal ligations, vasectomies, contraceptive services, or abortions, and they prohibit direct referrals to providers of such services.

Moreover, the directives can be ambiguous. Directive #36 states that a woman who is sexually assaulted "should be able to defend herself against a potential conception... ," but the directives do not specify how to establish whether a conception has occurred.

At some Catholic hospitals, a rape survivor may be told that she could become pregnant, but she may not be informed that there is a way to prevent pregnancy — emergency contraception (EC). EC consists of two large doses of birth control pills taken 12 hours apart. Treatment must begin no later than 72 hours after having unprotected sex. However, the earlier treatment begins, the better the outcome. Unfortunately, more than 80 percent of Catholic hospital emergency rooms will not dispense EC on-site to a rape survivor, and many will not even write a prescription for EC. Just imagine being a rape survivor and, with the clock ticking, learning that it is your job to arrange and receive treatment.

Each religion in our increasingly multicultural and multireligious democracy is entitled to honor its respective ethical, moral, and theological tenets; and each has the right to establish and sustain whatever institutions it chooses. While we urge respect for all faiths in our society, we dare not permit any one theology to dictate the medical care that an entire community may receive, particularly when the only available hospital in a community is governed by a particular theology. To do so is to work a terrible injustice against those who require basic reproductive health services but whose religious beliefs differ from those represented by the hospital where they seek treatment and care.

Moreover, standard reproductive health care services, which are relatively inexpensive, have surely not contributed to the cost pressures that are driving hospitals to merge. Thus, the only result of cutting such services is to inflict great hardship on the poor and the young in the community.

In the name of justice and compassion, we therefore insist that when any hospital merges, the newly merged hospital must provide all reproductive health care. We commit our efforts to safeguarding these services in the communities where we live and practice our faiths.

For some recent developments, see this article.

More Than Prayer — A Roundup Of Affiliate Activities

Rev. Beth McLemore Continues To Cause A Commotion

More than six months ago Rev. Bethany McLemore, a member of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board and coordinator of pastoral education and counseling for Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge, testified before the Virginia State Senate Education and Health Committee opposing an informed consent bill that would also have required women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion. The furor over her testimony continues. A recent issue of the Baptist Banner, a fundamentalist paper that reaches a statewide audience, carried a letter from the current pastor of the church where she was ordained that sharply rebuked her for her opinions on abortion and her employment at Planned Parenthood.

The senate committee had a different view. As a result of Rev. McLemore's testimony, the bill failed by 8 to 7 although it had been expected to pass. She pointed out that the proposed bill would have precluded her, despite years of experience and training as a professional counselor and a minister, from providing the information required, but would have allowed any referring physician to do so, regardless of whether his or her training was relevant. Moreover, she said, "Physicians can't take the time to counsel patients, or, in my case, to pray with them."

Rev. McLemore stated, "As a counselor, my role ... is not only to impart medical information ... but also to judge each patient's reactions to that information." Counseling can help prevent women from having abortions under coercion from others. Rev. McLemore asserted, "Our system for ensuring that all abortion patients have freely given their consent and are fully informed ... reflects the collective wisdom of our staff and our focus on the needs of our patients." She concluded, "I respectfully submit that the honorable members of the senate will never be able to protect or empower women the way Planned Parenthood does."

We applaud Rev. McLemore's willingness to stand up for her beliefs and to risk the enmity even of the church that had ordained her.

A Philadelphia Story

A group sponsored by local Philadelphia anti-choice organizations, with a helping hand from the American Life League, held a prayer vigil on July 29th in front of the Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania (PPSEPA) main office. When they arrived, 25 escorts, including members of the clergy, who had donned their collars along with their yellow escort vests, were on hand to assist women in keeping their appointments at the clinic and to make sure that they were not intimidated. The vigil was one in a series of activities dubbed "Generation" Life" that were designed to draw national attention on the weekend before the Republican Convention in Philadelphia.

Although clergy have long been involved in a support network and have regularly acted as escorts at PPSEPA, Heather Herndon, vice president for public affairs, and Jennifer Schwerin, community outreach coordinator at PPSEPA, arranged for clergy to receive special training for this occasion.

In an interview with The Philadelphia Daily News, on the day before the vigil, Rev. Deborah McKinley, who is a PPSEPA board member and pastor of the historic Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, noted that by training to serve as escorts during the vigil, clergy send a message that "people of faith have differing ideas about abortion and women's access to abortion." Rev. McKinley stated that it was her belief that "God wants [abortion] to be a free and open decision."

Rev. William Levering, a member of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, along with Revs. Patricia Kitchen, Lillie Nye, and George Tigh, also served as escorts. Members of the Presbyterian, Unitarian, and United Methodist faiths, they demonstrate that many faith traditions hold that there is a theological basis for the right of women to choose when and whether to bear a child.

Talking Back To "Dr. Laura"

Rev. Doctor David Lee Smith, a United Church of Christ minister from Wyoming, MI, and a member of the PPFA Pro-Choice Religious Network, felt obliged to respond to a column by Dr. Laura Schlessinger published in the Grand Rapids Press last February. The column attacked the Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing and the 850 clergy and lay religious leaders representing 25 denominations who had signed it. (There are now nearly 1,900 signatories, including over 150 members of the Planned Parenthood family.) In her column, Dr. Schlessinger implied that signers of the declaration were engaged in a conspiracy to "sexualize" our children in the name of sex education and to legitimize adult-child sex. She tied her attack on the declaration to a more general attack on the Sexual Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), which sponsored the declaration, and on the SIECUS Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten - 12th Grade.

The declaration proclaims, "Sexuality is God's life-giving and life-fulfilling gift." It addresses the continued threats to reproductive rights and health care, the assault on comprehensive sexuality education in our schools, the relentless attack by the religious right on homosexuality, and the crying need for social justice.

In his response, Dr. Smith wrote, "I believe that every caring adult wants, for children and young adults especially, age appropriate, accurate, and comprehensive sexuality education that is sensitive to religious and social diversity and individual needs." He praised the declaration and the SIECUS guidelines for promoting responsible sexuality education in a values context. "Dr. Laura," on the other hand, he concluded," has shown ... concern ... for her own celebrity , at the expense of children, youth, and religious people of good conscience."

Ed. Note: An interfaith committee, including Rabbi Balfour Brickner and Dr. Daniel Maguire, both members of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, drafted the declaration. To add your name, visit www.religionproject.org, or call 212-261-4721 for information.

Clergy Advisory Board Members Hit The Road

In September, Rev. Tom Davis, representing the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, went to Kansas City to participate in a program titled "Family as the Core Unit of Society, " a project of The American Assembly, a public policy forum founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower at Columbia University in 1950.

Ed. Note: If you would like a copy of the consensus report which discusses the conclusions reached and identifies various policy options, please call (212) 261-4721.

Rev. Mark Pawlowski, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan, will participate in a program sponsored by Planned Parenthood of West Texas in San Angelo in October. It will inform local area clergy about resources that they might find useful for their congregations and to enlist their support for Planned Parenthood.

Also in October, Rabbi Balfour Brickner will address a group of Planned Parenthood educators in Tucson, AZ, on the topic of religion and sexuality.

A Warm Welcome To New Clergy Advisory Board Members

Rev. Edward T. Burton (Baptist) has been pastor of the Sweet Union Baptist Church in Roanoke, VA, for more than 30 years. He has been a devoted and active supporter of Planned Parenthood since the late 1980s when he asked educators from the local affiliate, Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge in Roanoke, to conduct a workshop on family planning at his church. Shortly thereafter, he joined the affiliate's board for a six-year stint that ended in 1996. At the time he remarked, "Today, a minister needs to be as helpful to young people in time of crisis as he possible can be and serving on the board is one way of serving our young people."

Rev. Burton has been active in the affairs of his church, and Roanoke recognized his many contributions to the larger community by awarding him a Key to the City in 1982. Rev. Burton holds B.A. and Master of Divinity degrees from Virginia Union University in Richmond and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville, FL. He is married, with three children, and six grandchildren.

For most of his career, Rev. Gene Mace (Methodist) has been a hospital chaplain serving in general hospitals in Hartford, CT, then in Erie, PA, and finally in Peoria, IL, where he retired as director, Department of Pastoral Care, at the Methodist Medical Center after 26 years of service. In addition, he has been a pastoral care educator, active in a variety of professional educational capacities and in the community. Despite a very full schedule, Rev. Mace found time to accept leadership positions on the board of a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Erie and again in Peoria where he has been living since 1974. Today, he is the board chair of Planned Parenthood Heart of Illinois. Two years ago he started and chaired the Peoria affiliate's first Clergy Advisory Board. Under his leadership, the board produced the Statement on Sexual Ethics (see Clergy Voices, April 1999.) It has been circulated in Peoria and to a number of Planned Parenthood affiliates.

Rev. Mace attended Sterling College in Kansas and received a Master of Theology degree from Southern Methodist University in addition to extensive training in clinical pastoral care. He is married, and he and his wife are the parents of three children.

Episcopalians Support Responsible Choices

PPFA staff members manned a booth at the triennial Episcopal Convention in Denver, CO, to let clergy and lay religious leaders know that Planned Parenthood has a wide array of reproductive health care and education services that can help them minister to their congregations. They also asked those who stopped by the booth to support the Responsible Choices Action Agenda by joining the Responsible Choices Action Network. (See the box for information about the agenda and learn how you can sign up.)

The Right Reverend Neff Powell, bishop of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, was one of the first visitors. Bishop Powell, board chair-elect of Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge and already a member of the Responsible Choices Action Network, promised to spread the word to his colleagues at the convention. Apparently he did. By the time the convention ended, the network had more than 100 new members.

At The Political Conventions

Republican

Rev. Mark Pawlowski, PPFA Clergy Advisory Board member and president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan, participated in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) interfaith convocation, "Affirming Faith, Affirming Choice." It was held on the Sunday before the Republican convention in Philadelphia. PPFA was a co-sponsor of this event and another held in Los Angeles two weeks later.

Rev. Pawlowski remarked that among the many things that Jesus taught was to challenge the powerful. "It is our particular obligation,"he said, "to carry the message to those who would seek to lead us that, as Gloria Feldt, PPFA president has stated, 'Choice is not simply a euphemism for abortion. It's about making deliberate and responsible childbearing decisions ... . It's about women having an equal place at life's table. It's about truly valuing children.'"

"In my faith tradition, Rev. Pawlowski said, "the Creator Spirit ... graces human beings with the capacity to make responsible choices not only for themselves but also for all the created order."He noted that with a population of 6 billion in a world that has abused the earth instead of tending to it for the creator, there is much to do. In accordance with the commandments to honor one's God and to love one's neighbor as oneself, Rev. Pawlowski urged, "We must commit to living out a more inclusive moral imperative ... caring about others, ourselves, and our endangered planet ... and holding our whole planet and those in positions of responsibility to this standard .... That would truly be affirming our faith."

Following the service, Rev. William Levering, a member of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, rode his shiny red motorcycle at the head of a march that proceeded down the city streets. The marchers drew cheers from people on the street, while drivers in passing cars honked their horns and turned their thumbs up in salute.

Democratic

In Los Angeles before the start of the Democratic convention. Rev. Stephen J. Mather, member of the PPFA board and of the Clergy Advisory Board, participated in the RCRC service.

He took his text from Amos, Chapter 5, where Amos reminds the people that rituals that provide the illusion of piety are no substitute for justice that "roll[s] down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream." He pointed out that, today, those who would propose to dominate others and dictate standards for their lives dress up their motives in a religious language that actually subverts justice.

Rev. Mather urged that in our quadrennial ritual of electing a president there is a special obligation to cut through the fanfare and the hoopla and raise the fundamental question of respect for the ability of each person to follow his or her own ethical precepts and conscience when it comes to the decision to bear a child. He concluded, "Just as Amos took time from his labors, so we must make time ... to remind our people of the values that ... will define us as either truly human or the most illusion-prone of God's creatures."

Neither the service nor the march that followed was the peaceful affair that it had been in Philadelphia. An Operation Rescue - West (OR-W) leader stood outside the church and recited scripture through a bullhorn in an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the service. Then, carrying banners with photos of fetuses, the OR-W group tried to break up the march by inserting themselves among the marchers and harassing individuals. The marchers prevailed, singing and chanting in a reaffirmation of their faith.

AMA Takes A Step In The Right Direction: It Should Keep Going

At its annual meeting in June, the American Medical Association (AMA) recommended that no community should be denied "access to pregnancy prevention services" simply because a hospital that provided such services is purchased or merged with another hospital. In taking this important first step, the AMA acted with the compassion that characterizes the best traditions of the medical profession.

We urge the AMA to take the next step and require that the resulting hospital make provisions to ensure continuity of pregnancy prevention services, especially in cases where the resulting hospital is the only hospital in the community. This would certainly help to reinforce the efforts of individual communities.

Take the case of Save Our Services-Long Island in New York (SOS-LI). It has expended precious time and resources to educate the public in order to gain support for its battles to retain reproductive health care services following the merger or sale of a non-Catholic to a Catholic hospital. Recently, SOS-LI, confronted by the sale of an Episcopal hospital to a Catholic hospital, succeeded in obtaining an agreement that recognized the needs of the entire community.

The agreement includes a requirement that the hospital prescribe emergency contraception for rape survivors and discuss condoms in HIV-prevention counseling. Other provisions guarantee community access to providers of banned services and insurance coverage for such services as well as information about the availability of these services. In addition, the hospital cannot punish staff and doctors who provide banned services in other facilities. Further, the New York Department of Health has agreed to ensure compliance with these provisions.

(We are proud that Planned Parenthood Hudson/Peconic and Planned Parenthood of Nassau County occupy leadership positions in SOS-LI and that Rev. Mark Bigelow, a member of the PPFA Clergy Advisory Board, has taken an active role in these battles.)

SOS-LI's efforts paid off, but should such efforts really be necessary? Community hospitals must serve their communities and all of the people in them.