Planned Parenthood strips affiliation from San Francisco-based clinic network

San Francisco, Calif., Aug 12, 2010 / 01:07 am

Citing a failure to meet standards, the abortion provider Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has disallowed its San Francisco-based affiliate network from calling itself “Planned Parenthood.” The network also faces a shortfall of donations and compensation from the California state government.

Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG), which was founded in 1996, operates facilities in San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward, Rohnert Park, San Mateo and San Rafael. It also has a “satellite clinic” in San Francisco called the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center.

The Golden Gate affiliate must stop using the Planned Parenthood trademark as of Sept. 3, California Catholic Daily reports.

A PPFA representative said that the affiliate had failed to uphold the “standards and guidelines” required of affiliates, adding that the details of the situation were confidential. The spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle that the revocation of the franchise was “very unusual.”

PPGG interim CEO Therese Wilson said that the recession had cut its fundraising revenues in half. She also blamed the “budget quagmire” of the California state budget. PPGG will soon stop receiving reimbursements from the state for Medi-Cal until a state budget is approved.

Wilson told The Bay Citizen that Planned Parenthood was “not as attentive to its financial situation as it should have been.” She also remarked to the Chronicle that the organization wishes the national organization would have been “a little bit more supportive.”

PPGG reported that it will continue to operate its existing facilities under a different name and has launched a contest among its employees to come up with a new moniker. Wilson claimed the change in affiliation will reduce paperwork required from patients and will free the organization from having to pay national dues.

At the same time, PPFA has opened up the organization’s territory to its affiliates Planned Parenthood Mar Monte and Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo. Leaders with both affiliates have expressed interest in expansion.

Planned Parenthood Golden Gate’s Redwood City clinic recently shut down, reportedly as part of a consolidation effort. The organization also launched an “iPad Scavenger Hunt” for new patients and current patients who “refer a friend.”

Other affiliates of Planned Parenthood in California have been named in a lawsuit charging that the organizations overbilled the state and federal governments more than $180 million for birth control drugs. One of the lead witnesses in the case is a former official with Planned Parenthood-Los Angeles.