California branch to manage Planned Parenthood Southeast amid leadership crisis

A California-based Planned Parenthood chapter will help manage Planned Parenthood Southeast after months of turmoil that led to an internal investigation and the ouster of the embattled organization’s interim CEO late last year. The partnership, which was announced by Planned Parenthood Los Angeles on Thursday, is aimed at providing support and guidance for staff at […]

A Planned Parenthood clinic in Atlanta, Georgia. Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder

A California-based Planned Parenthood chapter will help manage Planned Parenthood Southeast after months of turmoil that led to an internal investigation and the ouster of the embattled organization’s interim CEO late last year.

The partnership, which was announced by Planned Parenthood Los Angeles on Thursday, is aimed at providing support and guidance for staff at the regional reproductive health care organization, which provides services to residents across Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

A press release from Planned Parenthood Los Angeles said the organization will serve in an “interim leadership capacity” to support Planned Parenthood Southeast, with the goal of ensuring that patients across the region have access to birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, cancer screenings and abortion services when allowed by state law.

“For patients, the most important question is simple: Can I still come to Planned Parenthood for care?” said Renée Delphin-Rodriguez, a former Planned Parenthood Los Angeles board member who will serve as managing director of the partnership. “The purpose of this partnership is to ensure that health centers remain open and patients continue receiving high-quality, respectful care — no matter what.”

Sue Dunlap, who serves as president and CEO of the Los Angeles affiliate, said the organization was proud to work alongside the southeast counterpart, citing a 20-year history of collaboration between the two affiliates.

“Communities in the Southeast face some of the most aggressive political attacks on access to care, and we are committed to helping ensure that PPSE patients receive care and support,” Dunlap added.

Planned Parenthood Southeast hires law firm to probe ‘troubling allegations’ after petition drive

In December, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Planned Parenthood Southeast’s  interim CEO Mairo Akposé resigned, roughly two months after the launch of an investigation into allegations of mismanagement that reproductive health advocates said threatened to undermine the organization’s mission and alienate donors and partner organizations. 

The investigation, which was announced by Planned Parenthood Southeast’s board of directors in October, came after the circulation of a “save Planned Parenthood Southeast” petition that organizers said was started by “concerned former members” and supporters of the organization. 

An Instagram account and website dedicated to the petition, which have now been taken down, alleged that Planned Parenthood Southeast had terminated employees dedicated to public policy and organizing and curtailed the organization’s emphasis on abortion services and community outreach under Akposé’s leadership.

Mitchell Robinson, a Planned Parenthood Southeast board member and chair of a special committee dedicated to overseeing the investigation, later stated that a law firm hired to review claims of mismanagement “found no merit to the allegations.” However, the board also announced that the national Planned Parenthood Action Fund would be taking a more active role in the advocacy arm of the organization, which included hiring a Georgia state director who would report to the national organization. 

Planned Parenthood Southeast did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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