Planned Parenthood Southwestern Oregon Board Supports The Movement for Black Lives 
 

The Board of Planned Parenthood Southwestern Oregon is outraged by the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many others. The Board is appalled by the disregard for human life and the countless cases of systemic racism. As a healthcare and educational organization striving for reproductive justice, not just reproductive rights, we stand with The Movement for Black Lives. If we are to achieve our vision that all people have the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities, we cannot ignore the detrimental impact of physical and sexual violence, including police violence against Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and those in the LGBT+ community.

Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in Oregon have suffered physical and sexual violence for centuries. The violence and trauma are perpetuated in our healthcare system, our schools, our workplaces and our neighborhoods. At Planned Parenthood Southwestern Oregon, we know that our goal of reproductive justice is not only about access to abortion, health care and birth control. It is about choice – which is unattainable until all people in our communities are able to care for their children and families without fear of violence from law enforcement. We believe we must rebuild our future through truthful examination of our painful past.

We stand in solidarity with those protesting to defund the police by reinvesting in community healing and accountability measures such as dedicating more resources to public health and community intervention programs like CAHOOTS, better hiring practices and training within law enforcement agencies, the establishment of a workable and current list of police officers who have been removed from active duty due to inappropriate behavior, and decreased funding for military-grade weaponry within civilian law enforcement agencies, and support dedicating more resources to public health and community. 

We support the following goals/actions:

• Address historical unconscious and conscious bias toward catering to the needs of predominantly white and middle-class women in partnership with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America;
• Invest in initiatives to support healthy, economically vibrant BIPOC communities and businesses, in Southwest Oregon;
• Ensure stronger mechanisms in all healthcare institutions to ensure provider bias and systemic racism is addressed, along with meaningful resource allocation to improve health for those most affected by poor health outcomes and;
• Prioritize additional resources to improve the health for those most affected by poor health outcomes in BIPOC communities, including investments to reduce maternal child health disparities, improve health outcomes for trans and gender nonconforming community members, and improve mental health outcomes.

As the Board of Planned Parenthood Southwestern Oregon, we re-commit to work with our community and staff to accomplish these goals. 

Learn more about Anti-Racism.