Hard Times, Tough Decisions - 1990s
The 1990s began with an explosion of violence against family planning clinics. Anti-choice activists armed with bombs, bricks, and profanities were determined to take away women's freedom of choice. But Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health service providers stood strong in the face of danger, banding together to protect one another. In the end, advances in technology and medicine, along with aggressive fundraising and public awareness efforts, made the '90s a decade of progress for women and reproductive health services. New computer technology facilitated communication between clinics and clients, modern medicine offered more birth-control options, and fundraising events provided support for expanded health services.
In 1991, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland initiated the Ellery and Elizabeth Sedgwick Award to recognize individuals who exhibited an extraordinary commitment to PPGC---a quality that the Sedgwicks exemplified. Louise 'Ligi' Grimes Ireland was the first recipient. Born in 1904, Ireland had been a dedicated supporter of family planning since the '20s, when she volunteered to work for Margaret Sanger.
Later in 1991, the Supreme Court stunned family planning supporters with its ruling on Rust v. Sullivan by upholding the 1988 "gag rule." The law withheld federal funds from family planning clinics that provided information about abortion. To many, the Rust v. Sullivan decision was an assault not only on freedom of choice, but on freedom of speech. Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland established a policy to reject the federal money if there were strings attached and continued to offer complete information. Local donors and advocates responded with enthusiastic support.
The same year, anti-choice activists firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbus, Ohio. This incident was just one of an increasing number of violent attacks committed against reproductive service providers. Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland leaders responded by demonstrating for reproductive choice in Ohio and across the nation, but the violence continued to escalate. In 1993, anti-choice agitators bombed and vandalized 50 U.S. birth control clinics. In Cleveland, Planned Parenthood led a strong community response, which included training hundreds of volunteers to monitor picketers at local clinics. It wasn't until 1994 that Congress enacted the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE), a law that protects reproductive health centers, their staff, and patients from threats, assault, vandalism, and blockades.
Despite the danger of backlash from anti-choice groups, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland was committed to providing local women with all available reproductive choices. In January of 1997, after careful planning and two years of lawsuits, PPGC began to offer abortion services at its Southeast center in Bedford. Only two other Planned Parenthood locations in Ohio offered this service. Clients responded gratefully and positively, and donations increased. That same month, violent protestors bombed a number of family planning clinics in Georgia, and local clinics, experiencing occasional harassment and threats, added security.
Threats of violence and loss of federal funding were not the only challenges Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland faced. In the early '90s, more infants died in Cuyahoga County than in 86 other Ohio counties. Planned Parenthood resolved to reduce those figures by reaching a greater number of people and preventing more unwanted pregnancies. The community's generosity to a $2.5 million 60th Anniversary Campaign allowed PPGC to open a new Southwest clinic in Old Brooklyn in 1990 and funded the start-up costs for abortion services.
In addition to high infant mortality rates, a high rate of teen pregnancy afflicted Cleveland in the '90s. In its number of teenage mothers, Cleveland was one of the top five U.S. cities. To address this problem, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland launched a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative, organizing an annual conference to educate middle school students, teachers, and parents about self-esteem and other topics related to sexuality.
In 1993, PPGC introduced the Let's Talk program, which encouraged parents and teens to communicate about premarital sex, abstinence, disease, pregnancy, and protection. Later, supporter Caroline Emeny funded an innovative teen pregnancy prevention program called Baby Think It Over. The wildly popular program uses computerized, lifelike baby dolls to teach teens about the responsibility and challenges of parenting. Teachers receive a complete curriculum with ready-to-copy materials that allow students to record their thoughts and experiences and guide classroom discussion. Like infants, the dolls cry often and required sustained attention from their young caregivers. Baby Think it Over continues to be one of the most popular community education programs.
At the end of 1996, Congress passed the federal Welfare Reform Bill, which included money to fund only those public school sex education programs that taught abstinence as the exclusive option for sexual health. Because Planned Parenthood's programs were a combination of abstinence and contraception, PPGC established a policy not to apply for funding that restricted the curriculum to abstinence. As a result of a 60th anniversary campaign that raised funds to support educational programs, it still managed to increase its efficiency and offer its clients a wider array of services. In the '90s, PPGC simplified record keeping and facilitated communication by putting its clinics and administrative offices online and linking them with a computer network. Improved communication meant better service for patients. Also in the '90s, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland began to offer menopausal services, colposcopy for the treatment of pre-malignant cervical conditions, to provide continuing education for social workers, and teachers, and opened a 24-hour automated phone line. The Facts of Life Line plays recorded information about pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, birth control, and other health topics for people who needed answers quickly and anonymously.
The 1990s also brought innovative methods of birth control to Cleveland women. Just one injection of Depo-Provera protected against pregnancy for three months. And, on February 25, 1997, the FDA declared emergency contraception safe and effective. When taken with 120 hours after unprotected sex, emergency contraception can prevent pregnancy. Though it had been available for years, few women or physicians knew about emergency contraception, because pharmaceutical companies didn't market it. By the late '90s, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation became the first company to advertise birth control pills in popular magazines such as Glamour and People.
In 1999, after a nine-month battle with the Rocky River City Council, PPGC moved its Lakewood clinic to Rocky River. Funded by the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation, the larger and more modern Rocky River health center made services available to the widening Westside suburbs.
Later that same year, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland began to offer health services at welfare-to-work programs, domestic violence shelters, and other community sites. Initially funded by The Cleveland Foundation, the program was dubbed Roving HOPE (Hormonal Options without a Pelvic Exam). Working from a suitcase, a nurse practitioner and a family planning assistant provided reproductive testing and healthcare and taught about birth control methods and prevention of STDs. Much like PPGC's mobile clinic of the 1950s, Roving HOPE brought reproductive healthcare right to the clients' own neighborhoods.
Many of these initiatives were made possible by profits from fund raising efforts led by dedicated volunteers. In 1996, Planned Parenthood of Greater Cleveland's annual holiday sale, the annual Christmas Mart (later the Holiday Mart) benefit, became known as "Celebrate!," and was transformed into an event where donated fine collectibles were sold to benefit PPGC. Led by volunteer Jean B. Sarlson, the event continues today and is PPGC's most successful fundraiser raising in excess of $70,000.
In 1996, PPGC hosted its first Party Politics event, an informal after-work gathering that offered young professionals a social opportunity to meet and discuss relevant current topics. The quarterly event remains a popular forum for everyone from local supporters to state legislators to learn about pressing legislation and new developments in reproductive health.
Through the decade, Planned Parenthood continued to advocate for reproductive freedom and access to affordable healthcare, in the tradition of its founders. In order to legally and effectively participate in the full range of legislative activities, PPGC established the Cleveland Planned Parenthood Action Fund (CPPAF), a 501(c)(4) organization, in 1994. Through such activities as voter education, direct and grassroots lobbying, and special political events, CPPAF educates and influences the general public and legislators about family planning and reproductive healthcare issues. CPPAF is one of only two Planned Parenthood affiliate 501(c)(4) organizations in the state of Ohio.
Continue to Venturing Abroad - 2000s
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