While the racist and eugenic nature of Planned Parenthood is well-known to the pro-life movement, it’s own employees are now waking up to this reality.
An open letter to the executives of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) from current and former employees details multiple abuses of power by recently removed CEO Laura McQuade. Calling her a “toxic leader and autocrat” and “demanding her immediate removal,” the letter alleges that she engaged in abusive and derogatory behavior towards employees, furloughed or laid off 28% of the workforce in response to Covid-19, did not cut her own salary or the salary of other executives in order to save jobs, and promoted systemic racism to keep minority women from advancing in the industry.
They claim that efforts to diversify the organization were superficial at best and “anti-black” at worst. Among the offences are pay disparities between white and minority employees, weaponizing racial language to “manipulate and silence those with differing opinions and perspectives,” putting people of color in leadership positions who harm other people of color lower on the totem pole, and placing a woman of color who is “not of African descent, as the ‘voice’ for BIPOC [black, indigenous, people of color] staff.”
This last accusation feeds into the broader criticism that Planned Parenthood doesn’t want to engage with the black community, as they say the organization “uses non-Black people as a buffer to actually confront and uproot anti-Blackness within organizations.” The Planned Parenthood locations that suffered the most lay-offs were those in the areas of New York City most affected by Covid-19, which are heavily minority.
Most astonishingly, the authors of the letter acknowledge the racist foundations of Planned Parenthood:
“Planned Parenthood was founded by a racist, white woman. That is a part of history that cannot be changed. While efforts have been made to undo some of the harm from institutional racism, many of these issues have worsened under McQuade’s tenure […] We know that Planned Parenthood has a history and a present steeped in white supremacy and we, the staff, are motivated to do the difficult work needed to improve.”
In this moment of national reckoning with past racism, the wokest among us have begun to eat their own. As the IRL blog has noted before, Planned Parenthood was designed to have an outsized impact on black and minority communities. That those foundations in racial eugenics are still with the organization in the present day should come as a surprise to no one.