In an act tantamount to a coup, Planned Parenthood board members met secretly to fire President Dr. Leana Wen.
Their complaint: America’s largest abortion provider wasn’t political enough in the fight over reproductive rights.
The move could threaten their message that Planned Parenthood provides life-saving health services to women, and abortions constitute only a small fraction of what they do.
The Washington Post further reports:
The ouster occurred at one of the most difficult moments in the group’s history. The organization faces growing financial peril from a Trump administration rule that took effect Monday barring federally funded family planning clinics from providing referrals for abortions. It is also under attack by antiabortion lawmakers at the state and federal level and is threatened by the prospect that the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion could be overturned by the Supreme Court’s new conservative majority.
The board did not address the reasons for Wen’s departure in a public statement. Board chair Aimee Cunningham did not respond to a request for an interview. A person aware of the board’s perspective, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the organization had worked with Wen for six months to correct problems with her management style, which the person said resulted in serious conflicts and difficulty working with staff.
The organization announced the appointment of Alexis McGill Johnson, a former board chair and head of an anti-discrimination organization, as acting president and said the search for a new president would begin early next year.
Wen said in a letter to the organization’s 55 affiliates and senior leadership that she had tried to broaden the organization’s mission to include a wide array of health-care services, including abortions.
AAN Staff
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