Columbia relationship with Planned Parenthood altered in the light of recent MU decisions
- Rachel Radecki
- Dec 9, 2015
- 5 min read
The Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia lost its privileges to perform abortions last week after MU cut its ties to the organization.
With the recent changes, the Columbia community, including the students of MU, will have to adapt to changes in the availability of abortion services at the clinic. Planned Parenthood plays a vital role in the health care services it provides to the community, and the possibility of defunding Planned Parenthood would result in drastic changes to the organization and for patients across the nation.
In September, former Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin decided that MU Health Care would stop “refer and follow” privileges for Dr. Colleen McNicholas to provide medical abortions at University Hospital. State law requires that a doctor performing abortions must have clinical privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of where the abortions are being performed.
Though Loftin resigned from his position months after making this decision, Interim Chancellor Hank Foley decided on Monday, Nov. 30, that he would uphold Loftin’s decision to not extend hospital privileges at MU Health Care that would allow Planned Parenthood to perform abortions.
“After a thorough policy review by MU Health Care, refer and follow privileges will be discontinued Dec. 1, 2015,” Foley said in an email following his decision.
Since the Columbia Planned Parenthood is no longer to offer abortions, the Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis in now the only place in Missouri able to administer abortions.
“Due to the mandatory 72-hour waiting period in Missouri, women from Mid-Missouri seeking an abortion will have to find somewhere to stay for this time period or make two separate trips,” Grassroots Organizer Christine Fouts of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri said.
“The 72-hour law requires two visits: one for informed consent and other state-mandated information, and one for the actual procedure, spaced about 72 hours apart. The loss of abortion services in Columbia will create additional barriers for women in mid-Missouri who are seeking a safe and legal abortion,” Fouts said.
The Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri organization works to spread awareness of its services through community outreach.
“My colleague is the education and outreach coordinator, and she goes into the community and gives medically accurate, developmentally appropriate presentations about sexual health to groups who request it,” Fouts said.
Additionally, Planned Parenthood has been fighting a large battle on a national scale for several months now. Though videos emerged depicting what seemed to be Planned Parenthood staff negotiating profits for aborted fetal tissue, Planned Parenthood has renounced the accusation.
And on Thursday, Dec. 3, the Senate passed a bill that would cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act. But, President Barack Obama is expected to veto the bill.
Though Planned Parenthood is under a lot of pressure about their abortion services right now, the Columbia Planned Parenthood is working to destroy the stigma about the organization and educate the community about it’s services.
“We do several things to make sure people in the community know about our services. First, we perform targeted outreach to educate people about our services,” Fouts said. “We also have a presence at community events, where we set up a table to provide information about our services.”
Though the bill could still be vetoed, the potentially devastating effects that defunding Planned Parenthood could have on the patients that receive the organization’s services are very real.
“Defunding Planned Parenthood … would disproportionately impact low-income women, men and adolescents who rely on it for testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, well woman checks, cancer screenings and birth control, among other services,” community ambassador and volunteer for the local Columbia health care center Dina van der Zalm said.
Before losing its privileges to perform abortions, the Columbia Planned Parenthood, to some, was a vital part of the Columbia community.
“The Columbia community benefits every day from the vast array of services that Planned Parenthood is able to provide on a sliding scale, making preventative care and treatment affordable,” van der Zalm said.
Van der Zalm, before becoming a community ambassador and volunteer, spent two years volunteering at the Columbia Planned Parenthood clinic for 10 hours each week as a part of the Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. After working so closely with Planned Parenthood, van der Zalm became aware of the important services that the organization offers the Columbia community.
“Planned Parenthood does a lot to keep our community healthy in a safe, confidential way that helps clients feel more comfortable seeking and accessing the services they need,” van der Zalm said. “Planned Parenthood has been here for 80 years, meaning it has served generations of Columbia residents and has become an important part of the community.”
The biggest contention about Planned Parenthood stems from its abortion services, though abortion services make up only three percent of the services that the organization performs. Some may be unaware of the extensive list of services that the organization has to offer.
“I think the advocacy and legislative work that Planned Parenthood does to expand comprehensive and sexual education and defend women’s reproductive health rights is vitally important, yet it is likely something that Columbia and Missouri residents are largely unaware of, at least on a daily basis,” van der Zalm said.
Until the the ties between MU and Planned Parenthood were recently broken, the university partnered with the clinic in order to provide services to the community as a whole.
“For example, up until recently, MedZou was able to refer patients to Planned Parenthood for colposcopies for less than half the price that the University Hospital would charge,” van der Zalm said.
Some Columbia community members, though, see the removal of abortion services as an opportunity for people to explore other options in the community.
“The pregnancy resource centers tell me that when abortions stop at Columbia, their contacts rise. I think it is a win-win situation for women,” Co-Director of the Columbia 40 Days for Life organization Kathy Forck said.
“If anything, Columbia will be positively affected, because this will hopefully shine a light on other options,” Mizzou Students for Life President Kristen Wood said.
Mizzou Students for Life stresses the option of adoption for women seeking abortions at Planned Parenthood clinics. Wood said that the organization does not actively condemn Planned Parenthood but encourages students of MU and Columbia residents to look into options besides abortion.
Some feel that defunding Planned Parenthood will simply alter the resources that patients utilize in order to get the services they need.
“There will be an increase in money that went to Planned Parenthood being funneled to federally qualified health care centers,” Forck said. “More and more women are seeking other options and are preferring to go to a federally qualified health care center that can help them will all their needs, not just birth control. They will be able to see a doctor, not just a nurse practitioner, especially when they have concerns that need a doctor’s care.”
