In the face of funding cuts and renewed attacks from local anti-abortion activists, Planned Parenthood Ottawa is reaching a crisis point, according to executive director Catherine Macnab.
Funding from Ottawa Public Health has dropped 10 per cent in each of the last two years. Donations from local sponsors such as the United Way, one of its core funders, have also declined, according to Macnab.
As a result, Planned Parenthood had to cut back its services, let go of some of its staff, and refuse some clients counselling services, she said.
“We have experienced funding cuts from across the board,” Macnab said. “As a result of these cuts we are now understaffed and unable to maintain as big of a client base.”
Meanwhile, local anti-abortion activists have been attacking Planned Parenthood, according to Macnab.
An Aug. 5 blog post on anti-abortion blogger Patricia Maloney’s website criticized institutions such as National Arts Centre and Canadian War Museum, which received grants from the federal government, for sponsoring Planned Parenthood events.
The post, apparently by Maloney’s friend, also criticized the provincially-funded Ontario Trillium Foundation and corporations such as Bridgehead for providing additional donations.
“I might just send their management a note letting them know just what I think of [Planned Parenthood] and their kind and why I might not want to frequent any establishment that supports them,” it said.
Maloney was unable to comment for this story.
Macnab said she is “worried people may be misled about the services we provide and what we do as an organization” as a result of the anti-abortion movement.
Planned Parenthood provides services such as counselling and sexual education on women’s and reproductive health and contraception options. The organization does not provide clinical services, such as abortion.
“We get many women that bring in their partners and bring us aside to say ‘please help me, he is trying to force me to have an abortion,’ then we talk the situation through with both the woman and her partner,” Macnab said. “These women need someone to talk to.”
Planned Parenthood and Carleton University share various co-op, resource, and research relationships. Carleton’s school of social work provides work opportunity with the organization and has jointly conducted research on issues affecting Ottawa women.
Planned Parenthood also co-ordinates events, training and education programs, while also sharing resources with Carleton’s Womyn’s Centre.
Jenna Spagnoli, administrative co-ordinator at the Womyn’s Centre, said she is worried the funding cuts will negatively impact students.
“Because of funding cuts, students may lose out on some of these resources,” she said.
Spagnoli said the two organizations met earlier this year in order to find a suitable way to provide pregnancy tests on campus. She said both organizations were unable to provide pregnancy testing services because of a lack of funding, instead appealing to pharmaceutical companies to donate or provide tests at a reduced cost.
She said this will have a negative impact on the women who use its services.
“No matter what a woman is going in for, to have to wait to talk to someone weighs heavily on a person’s mental state and they may fall behind as a result,” she said.
Macnab said she hopes the Carleton community will still be aware of the services and the help Planned Parenthood provides, despite its recent hardships.
“I want people to understand what we do and that Planned Parenthood is a safe place they can come to talk,” Macnab said. “It would be great to solidify our relationship with Carleton.”
Carleton’s Graduate Students’ Association will be hosting a fundraiser in October about the theme of consent, according to Spagnoli. All donations from the event will be going to Planned Parenthood Ottawa.
