Planned Parenthood staff in New York accused one of the abortion chain’s leaders of “systemic racism” this week in an open letter signed by dozens of employees.
The employees slammed Planned Parenthood’s claims about diversity as “superficial” and accused affiliate CEO Laura McQuade of “abusive behavior and financial malfeasance,” the New Republic reports.
The letter comes from current and former employees of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York to the affiliate’s board. The affiliate runs 28 facilities and reports about 200,000 patient visits annually.
Planned Parenthood employees also have complained to the New York Times about the abortion chain discriminating against pregnant employees.
In the latest complaint, the New York employees said they decided to go public after Planned Parenthood leaders did nothing to address the problems. They urged the board to immediately remove McQuade, among other demands.
One of the problems, they said, involves financial trouble exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis. The staff said they asked McQuade to cut upper-level management’s salaries, but she laid off or furloughed 250 staff instead. According to Planned Parenthood tax documents, McQuade made $428,321 in 2018.
They also accused her of being verbally abusive – in a “Trumpian leadership style.”
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According to the report:
Staff say in her two-year tenure, McQuade “created a culture of fear and intimidation.” Their specific concerns include “years of complaints from staff about issues of systemic racism, pay inequity, and lack of upward mobility for Black staff,” as well as “dozens of staff members [who] have witnessed McQuade yell, berate, slam her firsts, verbally abuse, humiliate, and bully employees.” All of this, they say, “fundamentally threatened the fiscal and operational viability of Planned Parenthood’s largest affiliate and its 900 employees.” …
Staff say that McQuade has failed to act when they voiced concerns internally. In response to repeated complaints about systemic racism, “highly paid consultants were brought in three separate times to assess the situation. Each time, employees of color were brutally honest about their experiences, but nothing changed.”
Additionally, the staff said they feel pressured by Planned Parenthood leaders to keep quiet about problems because of politics.
“We are deeply committed to maintaining access to abortion and sexual and reproductive health care; while acutely aware of the political landscape, we have experienced firsthand how constant public scrutiny perpetuates a culture of silence within reproductive health organizations,” their letter states. “This has allowed our leadership to stoke the fear that public expression of internal dysfunctions might threaten access to care.”
Separately, staff who identify themselves as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) released an additional statement blasting Planned Parenthood for being “superficial” in its diversity mission.
“At this point, PPGNY’s attempts to present itself as a diverse workplace have been carefully orchestrated and superficial at best,” they said. “White and non-Black employees are still given more pay and more advancement opportunities than their Black colleagues.”
To pro-lifers, Planned Parenthood’s disregard for human life is apparent. But more and more of its own employees also have been speaking out against the abortion chain.
While leaders reaped in massive salaries, most Planned Parenthood employees did not even get paid maternity leave, a New York Times investigation revealed in late 2018. The report also found evidence of the abortion group mistreating and discriminating against its pregnant employees.
One former employee Ta’Lisa Hairston alleged the abortion group did not let her take breaks during her pregnancy, which a nurse recommended because of her high blood pressure, The New York Times reported. Another former hiring manager in California said supervisors discriminated against pregnant job candidates, and pregnant employees at Planned Parenthood did not get promoted.
Planned Parenthood also has fought its employees’ attempts to unionize as they called for better wages and working conditions.
Many believe discrimination is at the roots of Planned Parenthood. Its founder, Margaret Sanger, was a well-known eugenicist who wrote and spoke frequently about how certain groups of human beings were less valuable than others.
Today, Planned Parenthood aborts about 345,000 unborn babies each year while reporting billion-dollar revenues.
