Staff protests closing of abortion facility.Byline: REBECCA NOLAN NOLAN Nascom Operational LAN The Register-Guard Former workers at Lane County's only abortion clinic An abortion clinic is a medical facility that performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices. Planned Parenthood, whose clinics offer abortions as well as other reproductive care and counseling, is the largest gathered Friday to protest its unexpected closure and accused the clinic's Portland-based administrators of abandoning the community. About 30 people held signs and passed out fliers in front of All Women's Health Women's Health Definition Women's health is the effect of gender on disease and health that encompasses a broad range of biological and psychosocial issues. Services, 633 E. 11th Ave., near the University of Oregon campus The University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon has around 80 buildings and facilities, including athletics sites such as Hayward Field, which is the site for the 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials, and McArthur Court, and off-campus sites such as nearby Autzen Stadium and the . "My hope is that by being visible, the public is going to be holding All Women's Health Services accountable for this rash decision to close without informing the community or staff," said Lauren Gilchrist, who supervised the clinic for the past year. Gilchrist was one of 14 full- and part-time employees who lost their jobs Tuesday. The Eugene abortion clinic, founded in 1991, was the only one in southwestern Oregon. Lois Smith, All Women's executive director, did not return messages left at her Portland office for comment. Previously, Smith said the closure was a "business decision" that allows the nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. to focus its efforts at its Portland location. At the protest, employees said they were called into a meeting Tuesday morning expecting to discuss some ongoing workplace issues. Instead, Smith announced that the clinic was closed and told the women-only staff to gather their things and leave the building. Clinic staff members said Smith told them that the Portland office was struggling to find a replacement for the Eugene clinic's medical director, who was set to leave the position at the end of the month. Others have said the organization has been struggling financially and hoped to centralize its services. Whatever the reason, laid-off workers said All Women's administrators left patients in the lurch. Appointments had been scheduled two weeks into the future, including some that patients had already paid for, said Samantha Perry, who volunteered at the clinic for a year before joining the staff two years ago. Although workers tried to reach clients to tell them of the closure, some continue to show up only to find the doors locked. "Portland has so many providers, it's just strange to me how this could be a good business decision," said Perry, who learned of the closure from a message left on her answering machine while she was out of town. All Women's in Eugene was the only abortion clinic on the I-5 corridor I-5 Corridor can refer to the following:
n. 1. same as abortionist. in the state. The Eugene location also provided pregnancy testing and counseling, naturopathic health care, low-cost acupuncture and birth control services. Women came from as far as Burns, Klamath Falls Klamath Falls, city (1990 pop. 17,737), seat of Klamath co., SW Oreg., at the southern tip of Upper Klamath Lake; inc. 1905. It is the processing and distribution center of a lumber, livestock, and farm area. , Idaho, and Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern for services, said Melissa Headly and Penny O'Leary, both former All Women's health workers. "The closure is going to have a big impact," O'Leary said. "We are hoping that the community and medical providers will come together and come up with a solution." CAPTION(S): About 25 people protest Friday, including former employees. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion