What It’s Like To Get Reproductive Care At An Anti-Abortion, Anti-Contraception Clinic
By: Francie Diep, Pacific Standard, August 9, 2019
When I wanted birth control in those lean years during and after college, I knew what to do. I looked up the nearest Planned Parenthood, which was just a bus ride away. There, I would see a doctor, or sometimes a nurse practitioner, who would give me a quick exam, then send me home with a year’s worth of pills, packed into a brown paper bag. I didn’t even have to go to a pharmacy. The appointment and pills were both priced on a sliding scale, based on my income. I don’t remember how I first learned about Planned Parenthood—a sign of its brand recognition.
Click here to read more about CfA’s work to hold Obria accountable.
A decade later, for some folks in my position, the landscape looks different. Historically, Planned Parenthood has been a major recipient of federal money for family planning. In its latest round of funding, however, the Department of Health and Human Services declined to give grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates in several states. Instead, the government funded more general health clinics, as well as one headline-grabbing institution: Obria Group, a faith-based network of clinics that’s philosophically opposed to contraception and abortion, according to an email from the group’s CEO, Kathleen Eaton Bravo, obtained by the pro-choice Campaign for Accountability. (A spokesperson for Obria Group said no one was available for an interview and wouldn’t answer specific questions I sent in an email.)