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Houston Coalition for Life Targets Planned Parenthood's Business Ties
(Kaisernetwork) The Houston Coalition for Life -- in its latest effort to discourage local construction groups to refuse to work with Planned Parenthood affiliates --has posted on its Web site the name of a firm advising an area Planned Parenthood on its clinic expansion, the Houston Chronicle reports. Gensler Architecture, Design and Planning Worldwide is under contract with Planned Parenthood to assess its need for additional space and facilities. The HCL site says that a Gensler official in Houston told the coalition that the company "will not pursue any further work with Planned Parenthood" after the current contract ends Sept. 29, according to the Chronicle. However, David Gensler, the firm's chief operating officer, said the information was false, and the company had no such policy to avoid working with Planned Parenthood in the future. HCL's list of project participants, which now names only Gensler, will be updated and instructs viewers to contact the firms. "Be very polite and encourage them to do the right thing," the site says, adding, "Ask them to stop working on this project and express your concern of how working on this project may affect the reputation of the company and the people that work there" (Sallee, Houston Chronicle, 9/16).
Earlier Letter Campaign
In early September, HCL sent 1,000 letters asking construction companies to refuse to work on what it called a proposed "late-term abortion" facility to be built by Planned Parenthood. The letter stated, "On behalf of women and innocent children, please do the right thing by rejecting this job if Planned Parenthood asks you to participate." Peter Durkin, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, said that the letters amounted to "harassment" (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 9/8).
(c) 2004 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation
Source: Kaisernetwork
Publish Date: September 17, 2004
Online at: http://ifrl.org/IFRLDailyNews/040917/4
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