Florida Planned Parenthood Builds New Center With $1.3M in Local Grants

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 23, 2008   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Florida Planned Parenthood Builds New Center With $1.3M in Local Grants

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 23
, 2008

Manatee, FL (LifeNews.com) — Planned Parenthood is building a new local center in this southern Florida city, a suburb of Sarasota, thanks to $1.3 million in local grants from three community foundations. This is the first Planned Parenthood facility in Manatee County but it supposedly won’t do abortions.

The building will be located at 1105 53rd Ave. E and the center will distribute birth control and contraception.

But Barbara Zdravecky, chief executive officer and president of Planned Parenthood Southwest Florida says no abortions will be done there, though it will undoubtedly do abortion referrals.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Wednesday to open the center, which is one of three the Planned Parenthood affiliate is opening. Two others are slated for Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Zdravecky told the Bradenton Herald newspaper that three grants made the new facility possible.

They include a $750,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation’s Capital Challenge Grants program, a $500,000 grant from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, and a $100,000 came from The Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice.

Ironically, county officials, in June 2006, voted down a $10,000 grant for the Planned Parenthood that had been suggested by the commissions children’s services advisory board.

A voter-approved property tax created in 1991 brings the county about $9 million in funds and the advisory board makes recommendations to county commissioners on how to spend the funds. But they rejected the Planned Parenthood funding proposal.

Commission Chairman Joe McClash made the motion to remove the funding and told the Herald Tribune newspaper that Manatee County "has never supported organizations that fund abortions."

"We’ve never funded Planned Parenthood in the past, and I don’t really see why we would be funding it this year," Commissioner Donna Hayes added.

ACTION: Contact the following foundations and tell them you’re upset they funded a Planned Parenthood center that refers for abortions: Contact the Kresge Foundation here, the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation here and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice here.

 

 

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