In December, news broke that a Planned Parenthood facility in Nashville, Tennessee, would not be committing abortions for the foreseeable future. This meant that, temporarily, the city of Nashville was free of abortion facilities. Tereva Parham, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman, confirmed the cessation to the Washington Post, saying, “At this time, abortion services have been halted and we’re undergoing a period of quality improvement.” Reportedly, the problem was that the facility could not find providers willing to commit abortions.
However, according to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee’s Chief Medical Officer Sarah Wallett, the facility plans to begin committing abortions again in Nashville next month. Wallett claims the halt in abortions was due to consolidation between Tennessee facilities, chalking it up to “staff turnover.” However, other reports from former staffers at the Nashville facility indicated different problems. Four staffers spoke anonymously to the Nashville Scene, alleging that the facility was mismanaged and more concerned about profit than patient safety. This included the cancellation of a loan program to help patients afford their abortion procedures, which meant patients took longer to gather money, which meant an abortion further into their pregnancy — which was more expensive for the patient, as well as more dangerous. Yet the Nashville Scene reports that women were still rushed into abortions. IV sedation, which was previously included in the fee for the abortion, was also suddenly billed separately, meaning more costs for the patient… and more profit for Planned Parenthood. Abortionists were also allegedly no longer provided with sterile gloves to use, putting patients at risk for infections — although it likely cut costs.
READ: When Planned Parenthood closes, women find real health care at hundreds of other clinics
“It felt like everything they did was money-motivated, not motivated by [concern for] the patient,” one of the staffers told the Nashville Scene. Because of these changes, the staffer alleges, providers began leaving, including three providers within three weeks at one point. “I didn’t trust them to hire anyone who cared,” a staff member told the Scene. And, inexplicably, when the Nashville Scene tried to follow up with Parham about the story, they received an e-mail stating that she no longer worked for Planned Parenthood.
Wallett did not deny any of these allegations to Nashville Public Radio, merely stating, “Like other health care organizations, it’s important that we are able to provide care sustainably, use our resources wisely, but never at the expense of patients.” While abortion advocates are likely cheering the news that abortion will be available in Nashville again, in actuality, with abortion centers like this Planned Parenthood, women are likely to be put at risk and deceived about abortion and fetal development, being led to believe that violence against their children is the best option.
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