The world waited eagerly for the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling in June 2022. Roe v. WadeBut you wouldn't know it if you followed Planned Parenthood's social media. It's not like the abortion giant had no time to prepare. The nation's highest court has Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization The case occurred over a year ago. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on December 1, 2021. And by early May, PoliticoA draft ruling was leaked suggesting the court would overturn the ruling. egg.
Planned Parenthood only had a few weeks to pay attention to the situation. The group organized a national “No to Our Bodies” rally on May 14 and launched a website and social media hashtag. But by the end of the month, egg And the Supreme Court effectively disappeared.
How can a giant organization like Planned Parenthood, given its power in politics, the media, and technology, be so unpersuasive?
As the court prepares to thrust Planned Parenthood into a fight for its survival, the abortion empire eggBut they also had plenty to say about a variety of other social justice issues that aren't central to the abortion chain's main product.
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Planned Parenthood also posted about abortion, but its posts didn't accurately convey the urgency of the time, and there was little evidence of any coordinated campaign in response to the impending repeal of the abortion ban. eggIn June, the #BansOffOurBodies hashtag disappeared completely until June 23rd. egg It fell.
By all appearances, Planned Parenthood's social media staff had taken a three-week vacation and was lazily posting automatically scheduled posts highlighting the trending progressive causes of the week.
However, Planned Parenthood's social justice idealsToday's The response to the most challenging month in history wasn't simply the fault of an inept social media director. The Twitter/X fiasco was just one symptom of an existential crisis that had been brewing for years.
Activism is inevitable
Cecil Richards, the longtime president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, announced his resignation in January 2018. During his 12 years at the helm, Richards built the organization into a political heavyweight, and during his tenure, the organization's number of volunteers and supporters more than quadrupled.
Richards successfully prevented Congress from defunding Planned Parenthood, and helped the organization escape most of the fallout when David Daleiden went undercover in 2015 to expose the organization's trafficking in aborted baby body parts.
Richards' resignation was a major blow to Planned Parenthood and appeared to come as a surprise to the abortion industry, and it took eight months for Dr. Leana Wen to be named her successor. While Richards, the daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards, had made a name for herself in politics, Wen was chosen to present Planned Parenthood as a medical organization as well as an activist group.
It didn't take long for regrets to set in. Hiring young, skilled doctors looked good on paper, but Wen's way of running Planned Parenthood didn't suit an organization rooted in radical politics.
“An emergency physician and former Baltimore health commissioner, she sought to position the organization as a nonpartisan health care organization, but the board wanted to double down on its progressive, pro-abortion narrative,” Anna Medaris wrote for Business Insider.
The dispute led to Wen's removal from office less than a year after she took office. “I wanted to focus on women's health in general,” she recalled. “They wanted to double down on abortion rights.”
Planned Parenthood appointed former board member Alexis McGill Johnson as acting president and CEO, dropping the “acting” tag in June 2020, about a year after announcing a search for a permanent president.
There was no danger of McGill Johnson being shortchanged in her advocacy for abortion. A former president of Planned Parenthood, chair of its political action committee, and director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, she is, according to her official biography, “a longtime advocate for social and racial justice, a respected political and cultural activist, and a tireless defender of reproductive freedom.”
Be careful what you wish for.
Failed to persuade
McGill Johnson's call for a “more intersectional” pro-abortion movement explains why Planned Parenthood's Twitter account has shifted its focus to all left-wing causes. egg It was collapsing, which also explains why Planned Parenthood had a hard time adapting to the post-2000s era.egg world.
At first glance, Planned Parenthood appears to be doing well: the abortion industry has successfully used the organization Richards created to raise money and win elections and referendums. DobbsBut look beneath the surface and you'll see the organization is in crisis.
While Manhattan and San Francisco media elites kowtow to Planned Parenthood executives who emphasize intersectional politics, local Planned Parenthood staffers have more work to do: While McGill Johnson cozies up to Kamala Harris, Jen Psaki, and Al Sharpton, local facility managers are figuring out how to deal with pro-life sidewalk counselors, undercover cops, and mass employee resignations.
Clumsy, hastily constructed myths are no match for the truth.
The disconnect between Planned Parenthood headquarters and local Planned Parenthood facilities helps explain why more than 260 abortion workers had changes of heart and quit their jobs in response to the “40 Days for Life” rallies, and why more than 600 quit with the help of Abby Johnson, Planned Parenthood's former Employee of the Year.
Planned Parenthood also failed to win the hearts and minds needed to build a lasting movement. Dobbs Leaks and decisions decreased rapidly.
“What emerged from interviews with more than 50 advocates, analysts, abortion providers and legal experts was a sense that the movement was being forced to admit its mistakes,” writes Amy Littlefield of The New York Times. “Chief among those mistakes was its relative neglect of grassroots organizations.”
Teen VogueHer disappointment with the abortion industry deepened, leading her to conclude that “the mainstream reproductive rights movement is no longer[s] It takes up the majority of our money, time and attention.”
How can a giant organization like Planned Parenthood, given its power in politics, the media, and technology, be so unpersuasive?
“One of the criticisms of the abortion rights movement is that we place too much faith in the law and trust that abortion rights will be protected,” says Tracey Weitz, a reproductive rights scholar at American University.
Planned Parenthood is bad at persuasion because they didn't need to persuade. eggWith 50 years of legal protections thrown in the trash, Planned Parenthood is desperate to find new positions.egg A story based on invented talking points that don't correspond to reality at all.
The abortion industry cannot be forgiven for not being prepared for the overturning of the Constitution. Roe v. WadeClumsy, hastily constructed myths are no match for the truth.
Editor's note:This article is “What to Say 2: A Proven Guide to the New Abortion Landscape – How to Discuss, Clarify, and Question Abortion in a Hostile Culture” (September 10th).
