Sacramento, Cal. – The state Family Planning Advisory Board voted February 7 to investigate the materials, goals and philosophies of Planned Parenthood to determine if the group should continue to receive state funding. The board oversees the granting of $35 million of state taxpayer funds to family planning agencies in the state.
Board member Helen McCullough recommended the investigation after the mother of three teenagers appeared before the board to complain about a book she received at a San Diego PP office. The woman quoted from Changing Bodies, Changing Lives, a few passages on oral sex and abortions and stated, “I think they’re being subversive.”
Hellan Roth Dowden, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, called the action a “witch hunt.” She contended the move was part of an ongoing attack against PP. “I question the right of a board to say to a private organization: ‘We want to see your objectives, we want to see your goals,’ and single that organization out.”
