Planned Parenthood out of Sierra Vista [Arizona], for now (Yay!!!!)

Sierra Vista Herald ^ | 6 January 2004 | Dana Cole

[Spiff]

Planned Parenthood out of Sierra Vista, for now

BY DANA COLE
Sierra Vista Herald/Review

SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA -- The Planned Parenthood health center of Sierra Vista will be closing its doors on Jan. 27.

After providing services at the 1658 E. Fry Blvd. location for 20 years, the agency will not be receiving a lease renewal from its Tucson-based landlord, Can USA Management Services.

Planned Parenthood, a not-for-profit organization, offers a range of reproductive health care services, including counseling, contraceptive options, reproductive information and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. Through its years in Cochise County, the agency helped more than 25,000 women and men.

"The landlord's decision comes just three months after we started using the abortion pill, Mifeprex," said Patti Caldwell, president of Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona.

Introduction of the abortion pill makes Planned Parenthood Cochise County's only abortion provider, something Caldwell believes may have been a reason for non-renewal of the lease. Caldwell said news of the landlord's decision was a complete shock. It comes as a complete shock to ME that Cochise County's Planned Parenthood had so quietly become and actual "abortion provider". ]

Can USA Management Services had no comment about its decision.

Although Mifeprex has been used by Tucson's centers since spring of 2001, it wasn't introduced in Sierra Vista until September.

The local Planned Parenthood sees between 170 and 180 appointments every month, Caldwell said.

"On the average, only five to 10 of those monthly visits are to secure abortion services. There's much more to Planned Parenthood than abortions," she added.

"Mifeprex provides women a non-invasive abortion method for early pregnancies -- up to seven weeks -- by creating a controlled miscarriage."

When a woman who suspects she is pregnant comes into a Planned Parenthood facility, most have already thought long and hard about what they want to do, Caldwell said.

"They come to us for counseling, confirmation of the pregnancy, an ultrasound to help determine the length of their pregnancy, all sorts of services are provided."

For a woman who wants to keep her baby, the agency provides related healthcare services, such as counseling and birth control options after the baby is born. Those who wish to go through with their pregnancies, but want to put their babies up for adoption, are given a list of licensed adoption agencies.

The woman who decides to terminate her pregnancy is provided counseling, information about the abortion pill, medical history is reviewed, and an ultrasound is done to determine how far she is in her pregnancy.

After reviewing all the information, if the woman is eligible for an abortion, she has the option of two forms of pregnancy termination -- the pill and the surgical method.

"Surgical abortions are not done in Sierra Vista," Caldwell said. "Woman who opt for the surgical method have to go to Tucson."

In a statement on Monday, Susan Warne, public information officer for the Cochise County Health Department said, "The closing of Planned Parenthood in Sierra Vista represents the loss of a local family planning service clinic. This closure may cause concern for our county residents. To alleviate these concerns, and for continuity of care, the Cochise County Health Department continues to provide regularly scheduled well women and family planning clinics at all five health departments."

Warne also informed residents of service options and the need to call ahead to the Health Department office closest to the them for an appointment.

Planned Parenthood has been providing services in Cochise County for 30 years.

Caldwell said the Sierra Vista center was given 30 days notice. She said the leasing agency offered no alternative options.

"This is a sad day for Planned Parenthood and for our clients in Sierra Vista and Cochise County," Caldwell said. "Given the short notice, we have no option of providing an uninterrupted service to the community. We are determined to work with our many supporters and medical colleagues to create a plan to offer services in Cochise County again in the future. Working together, we can secure the rights of all Cochise County residents to the full range of reproductive health options."

Caldwell hopes to find another location. Those with information about other lease opportunities can contact her at Planned Parenthood's Tucson office, (520) 784-5811.

REPORTER Dana Cole can be reached at 515-4618 or by e-mail at dana.cole@svherald.com.

[Spiff]

Hooray! Planned Parenthood quietly started offering non-surgical abortions here and their landlord found out about it and gave them the boot. That is great!

Thanks and support can be expressed to CANUSA:

Canusa Management Services Inc
8825 E Speedway Blvd #103
Tucson, AZ 85710
(520) 733-0840

If you get an email address, share it here.

[Spiff]

ping

[AppyPappy]

There's much more to Planned Parenthood than abortions," she added.

They used to mine ore in Nazi concentration camps.

[2banana]

After providing services at the 1658 E. Fry Blvd. location for 20 years

"On the average, only five to 10 of those monthly visits are to secure abortion services. There's much more to Planned Parenthood than abortions," she added

So, let's see, by their own admission, that equals between 1,200 through 2,400 total abortions. Enough children to fill two large high schools...

[RiflemanSharpe]

This is good news.

[The_Eaglet]

The serial killers are on the run. Thanks for the good news!

[Spiff]

We have our work cut out for us now. Somehow, we've got to guess where the baby killers are going to attempt to lease and beat them to it. We've got to eliminate any possibility that they'll be able to find another Cochise County location.

[hellinahandcart]

Hooray! Planned Parenthood quietly started offering non-surgical abortions here and their landlord found out about it and gave them the boot. That is great!

Abortion may have had little or nothing to do with the landlord's decision. Perhaps he wanted to build something there and simply didn't offer to renew PP's lease:

Caldwell said the Sierra Vista center was given 30 days notice. She said the leasing agency offered no alternative options. Such as "stop prescribing abortion pills and you can stay" or even "pay triple your present rent and you can stay" or anything like that.

It is in PP's interest to make it SOUND like they're being evicted for offering "reproductive care", but that don't make it so...

[oldironsides]

Abortion is wrong. Dumping the only source of affordable Pap Smears and STD testing is questionable. Many women go there for tests and contraception and not abortions. They cannot afford OB GYN offices. I am for good health for women.

[AppyPappy]

I am for good health for women.

Who isn't? However, they squandered their ability to help women by killing children. You cannot justify the warm homes in Frankfurt by the means of slave labor, nor can you excuse killing children so women can have pap smears.

[oldironsides]

Provide a place for women to go that want and need medical care and compete. I always wondered why something similiar was not offered to all women. Nobody offers the cheap care along with contraception to put PP out of business.
Planned Parenthood is well funded. It could not be that hard to compete for the funding and set up thousands of
offices to give affordable care minus the killing?

[hellinahandcart]

Planned Parenthood is funded up the wazoo. Hey, I know, they can BUY LAND wherever they want and build their own clinics on it. Then they wouldn't be subject to the conditions in the leases they sign, or to the whim of a landlord who may have other plans for HIS property.

This is a way to gin up contributions to PP; I can't believe you don't see that.

[AppyPappy]

PP made a ton of money killing unborn kids. It's like $350-500 a pop. If they made $100 profit off 400,000 abortions, well, you do the math.

But PP is married to the abortion industry and they'd rather see women suffer than risk losing that industry. Don't look for PP to start doing the "right thing" in your lifetime.

[jocon307]

"Dumping the only source of affordable Pap Smears and STD testing is questionable"

So, you buy into their lies? Believe me, I'm sure there are health departments one can go to, and I doubt there are many so poor that they cannot afford an annual pap smear.

And as for STD testing, please, don't be a whore and you won't need it.

I suggest these butchers relocate their "clinic" to the 9th circle of hell, they can get in on the "ground floor".

[agrarianlady]

I heard and saw my little girl's heart beat at 6 weeks.

[Ronly Bonly Jones]

I am for good health for women.>>

So am I.

Supposing your doctor stabbed his female patients in the back of the neck, sucked out their brains, and collapsed their skulls? Should he stay in business?

I don't think that that qualifies as "good health." Do you?

[AZHSer]

I saw a bunch of folks praying out in front of PP on Saturday. Didn't know what was going on. We have refused to do business with any of the stores located in that shopping center for years. Figured if enough of them stood up that PP would have been evicted a long time ago. Unfortunately, the immoral majority in Bisbee will probably offer them a new place.

[Spiff]

I saw a bunch of folks praying out in front of PP on Saturday. Didn't know what was going on. We have refused to do business with any of the stores located in that shopping center for years. Figured if enough of them stood up that PP would have been evicted a long time ago. Unfortunately, the immoral majority in Bisbee will probably offer them a new place.

I've mentioned it to the owner of the Baskin Robbins. Also, I used to know some of the people in that regular prayer group. I guess their prayers are answered - finally.

Now we just have to see what we can do to keep Planned Parenthood out of Sierra Vista.

[oldironsides]

Oh please, quit the grandstanding. I have long been prolife and believe in health care for all women. That means "all women" and not just the insured. Clinics are needed all over the USA for all manner of gyn issues. The idiot calling people with STD's whores was interesting. I worked in the health field for years. I can tell you that many people afflicted with STD's were spouses that had wonderful church going husbands or wives that brought them home a gift.

[AZHSer]

Didn't know it was a regular group. With AHCCCS and the County Health Dept. PP just isn't needed to provide those services. Doesn't CareNet provide pregnancy tests and some ultrasounds? Regardless of the hype, PP only exists to provide abortions and referals for abortions.