2019 winter
horizons
ÂŽ
A Publication of Planned Parenthood South Texas
celebrating
80 years
in the making
The 80th anniversary is known as the oak anniversary. Oaks, which grow throughout Texas, are a symbol of strength, longevity, nobility, and “They wisdom. Like them, Planned tried to Parenthood began as a small bury us. seed and has grown large and They robust over decades. Just as didn’t oak trees survive storms that know fell more delicate trees, we we have stood strong against were seeds.” countless attacks on our work — Mexican and values. As we reflect on proverb our roots and progress so far, we look forward to many more years of growth and strength.
2019 board of directors Kathy Armstrong Chair Elise Boyan Chair-Elect Merritt Clements Treasurer Patricia Morales Secretary Alison Boone Immediate Past Chair La Juana Chambers Lawson Cheryl Davis, DDS Ceci Goldstone Laurie Greenberg, MD Alison Kennamer Ellen Lake Mina López Rev. Jon Lowry Fernando Martinez, PhD Don McRee, PhD Amber Medina Mayra Mendoza Sara Metersky Catherine Payer Yvonne Pelayo Brian Steward STAFF LEADERSHIP
table of contents who we’ve been 4 | looking back janet Alyn 6 | our founding: 1930s 8 | rapid growth: 1940s–1950s 10 | broadening our reach: 1960s–1970s 12 | changing times: 1980s–1990s 14 | challenges and opportunities: 2000-2010s
who we are 16 | the patient experience olivia ortiz 18 | expanding services, expanding care 20 | stronger together with community partners 22 | forward! marches that move us 24 | 45 years of dedication Gracie lopez 26 | thank you, mayor nirenberg! 27 | dudley harris’ annual pottery sale 28 | an evening with armistead maupin 30 | 2020 annual luncheon with patricia arquette
who we’re becoming 34 | looking ahead jeffrey hons 37 | be part of our future 38 | education, the key to the future
Jeffrey Hons President & CEO Polin C. Barraza, RN Senior Vice President & COO Angela Koester Vice President for MISSION Community Engagement
We provide and protect the health care and information people need to plan their families and their futures.
who we were looking back at the history of planned parenthood south texas Janet Alyn
Former Planned Parenthood Education Director and board member
I wish I’d been a little bird on the lawn of Mrs. Jamie Armstrong Bennett’s Monte Vista home in 1939 when the founders met to organize what we now know as Planned Parenthood South Texas. What would these ladies in their hats and white gloves think of their Maternal Health Center 80 years later?
I think they’d have been proud of Planned Parenthood’s accomplishments, and doubly proud that the organization has maintained the intent of their original goals— “enable women to avoid conception, space children, limit the number of children and thereby aid families.”
During the 1960s physicians from the community volunteered to provide gynecological exams and birth control to patients, many of whom received free services thanks to federal and state family planning funds for low income patients.
Janet Alyn at the opening celebration of Planned Parenthood’s new San Pedro health center in February 2019.
Research conducted by endocrinologist Dr. Joseph Goldzieher in San Antonio in the 1950s and ’60s led to the development of the pill. Early testing was done with the cooperation of Planned Parenthood.
In response to several phone calls to Planned Parenthood asking for someone who can “speak to women about family planning,” a speakers bureau was established in the 1970s, and sex education curricula was written by a group of parents, teachers, nurses and Planned Parenthood personnel.
Teenagers became the focus of interest after statistical studies began appearing as newspaper headlines such as ONE IN TEN TEENAGE GIRLS BECOMES PREGNANT EACH YEAR. Public schools responded to the problem. They knew those statistics reflected the situation in their own classrooms. Planned Parenthood became the place to go for information and prevention.
Positive reviews of our work came in many forms. The first time I stood before a class of teenagers and began to talk about sex, nervous butterflies shook my voice. I focused on one young man seated in the back of the room with an open book on his desk. By his size I judged him to be a guard or tackle on the football team. I envisioned him silently saying, “Come on lady, teach me something.” At the end of the class period, I realized he’d never turned a page in his book, I knew I’d chosen the right career. When the bell rang, he walked past me and with a head nod and a half smile said, “See ya tomorrow.” 4 | CELEBRATING 80 years
By the end of 1980s, Planned Parenthood’s education department had grown to seven speakers who taught daily in public school classrooms, spoke to numerous religious youth groups, parent groups and civic clubs. We developed a peer counseling program that over the years trained teens at several schools to give accurate information to their friends. Requests for our age appropriate, accurate information on sexual health and birth control often exceeded staff availability.
Positive reviews became the norm. Named one of the ten best sex education programs in the United States, we were living in a blissful state.
When media stories of HIV/AIDS began to appear, we worked diligently to correct errors and rumors. Little was known about the disease but speculation ran rampant. We did our best to cull the falsehoods and focus on truths as the medical community knew them.
Yet opposition to our work existed. The founding women, later dubbed the “lawn ladies’” created a no-publicity committee tasked with keeping news about birth control out of the newspaper.
When a woman protester knelt in prayer in the street facing the San Pedro clinic, staff members gently helped her out of the traffic and onto the sidewalk where she continued her silent protest; a radio host, known to rant on air about Planned Parenthood, conducted a surprisingly positive interview with a staff member—until she left the studio, then—on air—he blasted her and the agency; and the parent who sat in the back of a classroom every day for a week with her son in the front row, his red face and downcast eyes reflecting his embarrassment. We were proud of our work, but she felt otherwise. She left the school, went to the superintendent and proceeded to make numerous untrue accusations.
But with opposition comes reaction, and reaction to Planned Parenthood has increased community backing.
My first office at Planned Parenthood in 1978 was above the San Pedro clinic at 106 Warren St. I look back on that decrepit building and compare it to the facilities of today and am impressed with leadership who in the face of dwindling government funds, reaches out to our community to insure that PP patients receive the best care in facilities that mirror those of the finest doctors’ offices in the area.
Planned Parenthood continues to thrive and grow. I toast all who’ve gone before us and know current and future staff, board members, and friends will do their best “to provide and protect the health care and information people need to plan their families and their futures.
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who we were 1930s On May 11, 1939, two dozen women met to discuss a radical idea: starting a birth control clinic in San Antonio. As the United States was struggling to emerge from the Great Depression, this group of brave, determined women wanted to make family planning more accessible to all women. They called the clinic the Maternal Health Center. Those founding board members had ambitious goals: reduce maternal and infant mortality; preserve the mother’s health and increase the chances babies would be born healthy; ensure women and men had only the number of children they could properly support; and help families be financially independent instead of reliant on government assistance. In its first year, the Maternal Health Center served 354 women. Catherine Harding Halff
Mollie Bennett Lupe Mollie Bennett Lupe took the lead on establishing the clinic when she was in her late 20s. She continued her work at the center until her death from cancer at age 32. Her lifelong friend, Catherine Harding Halff, served as vice-president of the founding board and supported Planned Parenthood throughout her life.
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original clinic
The Sam Smith house, a small adobe structure on the corner of Water and Goliad streets, housed the first clinic. The building was later remodeled for use at Hemisfair. Margaret Sanger, often called the mother of the birth control movement in the United States, visited Texas several times to speak to groups about birth control. In October 1931, she stayed in San Antonio at the home of Mrs. H.A. Hirshberg. Sanger wrote to her host to thank her for her hospitality, adding, “I shall look forward to news of a possible clinic in S.A. & will be happy to send you all necessary facts and suggestions for your venture.” Mrs. Hirshberg later became a member of the Maternal Health Center’s honorary board.
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who we were 1940s–1950s In the 1940s, the Maternal Health Center grew rapidly, serving thousands of patients. It expanded services, added hours and worked to reach rural communities. It changed its name to Planned Parenthood of San Antonio in 1946. In mid-century, the list of services offered by Planned Parenthood continued to grow. In addition to birth control, the clinic offered counseling on infertility and other “marriage problems” as well as cancer and tuberculosis detection. In the late 1950s, the Planned Parenthood Center of San Antonio cooperated with Dr. Joseph Goldzieher at the Southwest Foundation for Research and Education to conduct clinical trials of the modern birth control pill. The FDA approved distribution of the Enovid contraceptive pill in 1960.
Early clinic reports tracked information including the number of women helped and the number of Wassermans (syphilis tests) run.
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(L-R) Mrs. M.F. Davis, Mrs. Robert Kolm, Mrs. Andrew Z. Thompson and Mrs. Hugh Halff assist a patient (facing away from the camera) in the clinic in the 1950s.
Volunteer physicians, nurses, board members and others gave their time and energy to serve low-income women in need of birth control during the clinic’s early years. Mrs. Frederick G. Oppenheimer, pictured here in 1942, was one of the passionate nurses who provided contraceptive education and supplies.
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who we were 1960s–1970s Wesley community house
A mobile clinic carried birth control services citywide, including to the Wesley Community House. Planned Parenthood’s work with Wesley nurses in the 1960s is a foreshadowing of our current partnership with Methodist Healthcare Ministries, whose Wesley Nurse program is committed to helping improve the health of people and communities.
In the 1960s, the federal government began recognizing the importance of funding family planning, beginning with President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s War on Poverty. As part of this initiative, the U.S. government offered block funds for family planning that helped fuel an expansion for Planned Parenthood organizations throughout the country. Bipartisan support for family planning was strong. In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed into law Title X of the Public Health Service Act to help fund family planning services to low-income people. 10 | CELEBRATING 80 years
“We need to make population and family planning household words. We need to take sensationalism out of this topic so that it can no longer be used by militants who have no real knowledge of the voluntary nature of the program but rather are using it as a political stepping stone. If family planning is anything, it is a public health matter.” —U.S. Representative George H.W. Bush, advocating for family planning appropriations from the federal government in 1969
Planned Parenthood Center of San Antonio President Tom Semmes, National President of Planned Parenthood Federation Jack Hood Vaughan, and Chair of the National Board of Directors Tenny Marshall pose in front of a San Antonio clinic in September 1976.
The first Planned Parenthood in the Lower Rio Grande Valley opened in September 1966 in Brownsville’s Buena Vida housing project. A clinic later opened in Harlingen. Planned Parenthood Cameron County became part of the Planned Parenthood South Texas family in 2010.
San Antonio Mayor Walter McAllister presents a proclamation to board members Doris Hohenberger and Ernest Groos, Jr. declaring the week of January 19, 1970 “Planned Parenthood Week.” Executive director Amram Prero and Clinic Coordinator Eva Gomez explain birth control pills to women in 1969.
Ensuring that patients have access to safe, legal abortion care has long been a priority for Planned Parenthood South Texas — even before we began providing this care at our health centers in 1997. In the early 1970s, we partnered with Planned Parenthood Los Angeles to help San Antonio patients obtain abortion care in California. We provided financial and logistical assistance for patients to fly to Los Angeles for abortion care at a hospital there. In a profound victory for reproductive rights, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the constitutional right to access safe, legal abortion in 1973.
San Antonio philanthropist and activist Ruth McLean BOWMAN Bowers underwrote the expenses for Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who argued Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court. Bowers, a tireless pro-choice advocate, served on the Planned Parenthood South Texas board and remained a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood until her death in 2013. 2019 winter horizons | 11
who we were 1980s–1990s In 1988, the band Menudo, including singer Ricky Martin, visited Memorial High School in San Antonio to promote a Planned Parenthood education program called the Texas Teens Project. Posing with the group are Board President Mark Sessions, Executive Director Susan Cox, and 1st Vice President Mercedes Perez de Colon.
A clinic worker discusses anatomy with a patient in 1983.
As new politics and policies begin to shrink federal funds for family planning in the 1980s, Planned Parenthood opened several self-pay clinics with fees set below the for-profit marketplace. Since then, the selfpay model has evolved into a sliding fee scale that remains an integral part of our health care operation as government funding waxes and wanes. Our community education programs developed scope and sophistication in the 1980s, providing responsible sex education programs in nearly all school districts in Bexar County. A peer counseling program involved 20 chapters of high school students at various campuses. When the AIDS epidemic hit, we aggressively combatted the spread of HIV through testing and education. Our Minority AIDS Education program targeted atrisk minority populations in San Antonio, providing counseling in AIDS prevention and high-risk A Planned Parenthood health center at behavior. 12 | CELEBRATING 80 years
523 San Pedro Ave. in San Antonio in the 1980s.
Jeffrey Hons joined Planned Parenthood in the mid-1990s and has served as President & CEO since 1999.
Planned Parenthood’s longtime headquarters at 104 Babcock Road in San Antonio.
In response to significant changes in the availability of and access to abortion, in 1997 Planned Parenthood South Texas began offering surgical abortion care at our clinic at 104 Babcock Road. After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved medication abortion, we began offering medication abortion at several health centers in San Antonio. Today, 75 percent of abortions we provide are medication abortions.
The education and outreach program Habla Con Tu Hermana (Talk With Your Sister) was introduced in the 1990s. Community health workers, called promotoras, educated Spanish-speaking women in San Antonio about sexual and reproductive health. The program ran successfully until 2011, when political attacks on state funding forced it to temporarily close. The program relaunched in 2015 in the Rio Grande Valley.
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who we were 2000s–2010s
Planned Parenthood played a leading role in organizing the March for Women’s Lives at the nation’s capital in 2004. Approximately one million people, including former Texas Governor Ann Richards (R) and Planned Parenthood supporters from South Texas, attended the historic gathering. Its goal was to protect and advance access to a full range of reproductive health care options. Poet, novelist and civil rights activist Maya Angelou spoke at Planned Parenthood’s annual luncheon in 2010, raising $300,000 to support health care.
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In 2011, politically motivated attacks by Texas lawmakers led to severe funding cuts for Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the state. Heroic philanthropy from our supporters helped us continue to serve low-income patients, many of whom depend on us as their only health care provider. In 2013, Texas passed HB2, one of the nation’s most restrictive laws targeting abortion, which caused dozens of abortion clinics to close across the state. In 2016, the Supreme Court overturned parts of HB2. Our flagship facility opened in the Medical Center at 2140 Babcock Road in 2015. The building houses a family planning clinic, an ambulatory surgery center, our administrative offices and a high-complexity laboratory.
In 2017, we moved our clinics in downtown San Antonio to a building we purchased at 920 San Pedro Avenue. The building now houses our premiere family planning clinic and a separate clinic that began providing abortion care in early 2019. 2019 winter horizons | 15
who we are the patient experience olivia ortiz At a press conference celebrating our 80th anniversary in July, San Antonio resident Olivia Ortiz shared her own experience as a patient. Her remarks illustrate how Planned Parenthood is providing life-changing, life-saving care eight decades after its founding. This is not something I discuss often, but it’s true that our words matter, and I would be doing all women a disservice by not sharing. A few years ago, at the age of 32, I felt a lump in my right breast. I immediately called my OBGYN to make an appointment. The receptionist put me on hold. She came back and said I was too young for breast cancer, but if I wanted to make an appointment, it would be about six weeks before I could get in to be seen. The interesting thing is that I had felt the same lump a few months prior, but because I had just suffered a miscarriage it was dismissed by my OBGYN as hormonal. Six weeks to have something growing in my body was too long for me to sit around and wait. Thankfully, I had learned about Planned Parenthood in high school, because we would occasionally fundraise for the organization. So, I knew I had a resource. The very next morning, I went to my local Planned Parenthood as a walk-in patient and even though I had to wait, they were able to see me that very day. My breast assessment concerned the clinician, and she made an appointment for me to be seen at the Nix that afternoon for a mammogram. 16 | CELEBRATING 80 years
The nurse practitioner informed me they would be receiving the results from the Nix and will send them over to my OBGYN. She was so kind and told me, “If your doctor does not want to treat you after receiving your results, you come back here, and we will.” When I received the results, I was stunned to learn that I did indeed have breast cancer. Luckily, I was able to receive treatment early and I believe that is why I am here today.
“The truth is if Planned Parenthood had not been there for me, I’m not sure where I would be.” Would my children still have their mother? Or would my husband have to raise our children alone? I shudder to think what would have happened if Planned Parenthood was not here, and if I had waited like I was advised. Planned Parenthood’s efforts spring boarded my treatment and recovery. They advocated for me when my own doctor would not. Their mission has always been able to help people from all walks of life, no matter their background or situation. Even though I was a collegeeducated woman with available resources, they helped me. And today, I think of all the women of different socioeconomic backgrounds who Planned Parenthood has helped in their 80 years here in San Antonio and South Texas. In a time when they are demonized for providing the health care people need, I am struck by the camaraderie of women helping women. I truly believe Planned Parenthood played a pivotal role in my road to recovery to be cancer free. For me, and for thousands of others, going to Planned Parenthood is not political—we are simply seeking health care. And the medical attention I received at Planned Parenthood was lifesaving. My hope is Planned Parenthood continues to have the community support it needs to keep this vital health care organization thriving. Thank You.
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who we are Expanding services, expanding care
From the day we opened the doors of our first clinic 80 years ago, Planned Parenthood South Texas has evolved to be whatever patients have needed us to be. While our focus was on birth control education and supplies, we soon began offering tests for syphilis and tuberculosis. Early on, we offered young brides-to-be classes called “Education for Marriage,� taught by clinic staff and local clergy. Pap tests became common in the 1940s; now we offer HPV testing, HPV vaccines, diagnoses of precancerous cells and the removal of those cells. We were on the forefront of HIV testing and AIDS education in the 1980s. When abortion access diminished in San Antonio in the late 1990s, we added abortion care to our list of services. While diaphragms were once our only contraceptive option, we now offer a dozen methods of birth control, including emergency contraception. We also provide a variety of services for male patients, including sexual health exams for men.
Here are recent services we have added to meet the evolving needs of our patients: Transgender hormone therapy
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Transgender people have the same basic health care needs as cisgender people, such as contraceptives, STD testing, and cancer screenings. In 2017, we added transgender hormone therapy to our list of services. Using estrogen or testosterone helps patients express their true gender identity. We provide this care with compassion and without judgement.
Fertility services
For patients who need assistance conceiving, we offer a range of tests and treatments, including semen analysis evaluation, medications that help women’s hormones and ovulation, and intrauterine insemination.
PrEP
Pre-exposure prophylaxis is a daily medication (brand name Truvada) that helps people at high risk of HIV infection to lower their risk of contracting the virus. We offer patients clinical assessments and prescriptions for this highly effective drug.
Technology
Patients who live far from a health center now can order birth control online from PP Direct. Our free smartphone app, Spot On, is a menstrual cycle tracker that allows users to track their period symptoms, get reminders about birth control or track fertile windows and ovulation calendar. Teens who can’t visit one of our clinics can learn about sex, their bodies, healthy relationships and sexual responsibility from our website or the Planned Parenthood chatbot, Roo. These are science-based sources that offer objective information without judgment or stigma. 2019 winter horizons | 19
who we are Stronger together with community partners
Stephanie Dominguez, Planned Parenthood South Texas Community Engagement Manager in the Rio Grande Valley, presents a check for $5,000 to Belinda Bradford and David Stine of Good Neighbor Settlement House in Brownsville to support their work with asylum seekers and refugees.
At Planned Parenthood, our mission-driven clinic staff—physicians, advanced practice nurses, medical assistants and center managers—are the heroes who provide the health care our patients need and deserve. But advocating for our patients and working for real change requires going beyond our clinic walls. While our focus is on health care, we partner with other organizations on the front lines of other issues affecting our patients and communities: racism, sexism, attacks on immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community, economic injustice, voter suppression and climate change. All of these place barriers between a woman and the better life she wishes for herself and her family. 20 | CELEBRATING 80 years
This summer we secured a Latino Community Investment Grant to support the work of the Angry Tias and Abuelas of the Rio Grande Valley and Good Neighbor Settlement House in Brownsville. These inspiring organizations provide asylum seekers at the U.S./Mexico border with basic necessities such as food, hygiene kits and clothes as well as helping with travel logistics and transportation. The two groups are connecting immigrants with health care by providing information on the services available at Planned Parenthood, as well as vouchers to waive the cost of a visit to our clinics in Brownsville and Harlingen. Planned Parenthood provides care no matter the residency status of a patient. The Latino Community Investment Grant also supported Queer Y Mas: Rooted in Resilience, an event staged in October with the Pride Center San Antonio. The evening celebrated the intersections of Latinx Heritage Month, LGBTQ History Month, and National Coming Out Day and honored the unheard and often untold stories of queer Latinx people who have paved the way for future generations.
“It’s important to partner with Planned Parenthood South Texas because they are one of the few spaces in our community that provide healthcare to LGBTQ+ people in a safe, well-informed, and respectful environment. There is a lot of need in sexual and gender minority groups for competent and accessible resources. Anything I can do to highlight those specific spaces for our community really matters.”
—Joe Colon-Uvalles, community activist/ organizer of Brownsville Pride
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who we are art as activism, Activism as art We spent the month of September contemplating and giving visual expression to the causes that motivate civic action. Forward! Marches That Move Us, an exhibition at the Blue Star Arts Complex curated by Ethel Shipton and Casie Lomeli, aimed to inspire by sharing images of activism. Why do we, intelligent and compassionate South Texans, march today? The artists who contributed original works to the exhibition and our family of supporters who submitted signs and photos appear most moved by concerns surrounding abortion access, LGBTQ rights, immigration, and gun violence. Why else do we march? As Jeffrey Hons explained at the private view for donors, we march because it is in our DNA. It is a custom, a right, even a privilege of living in this country. But more importantly, we march because doing so can actually make a difference. Jeffrey cited seven moments in U.S. history when protests or marches yielded real results, including Selma in 1965, the March on Washington in 1963, all the way back to the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 and the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Artist Anne Wallace poses in front of her work “Where Are the Children?�
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Progress sometimes feels slow, even stalled on certain fronts. But Forward! Marches That Move Us reminded visitors that it is within their power to push our nation forward. “It takes approximately 3.5% of the population actively participating in non-violent, civil protests to ensure serious political change.”
Artist Jenelle Esparza poses with her work.
“Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict” by Erica Chenoweth, Ph.D. and Maria J. Stephan, Ph.D.
Marches That Move Us will continue to evolve as a digital exhibition on Instagram. View or submit images at www.instagram. com/marchesthatmoveus.
Artist Jose Villalobos, Ethel Shipton, and Pat Smothers Gallery visitors create their own signs for marches.
Artist Jennifer Khoshbin poses in front of her work “SIGN HERE.”
Visitors to the exhibit examine a work by artist Katie Pell.
who we are 45 years of dedication gracie lopez
Center Manager Brownsville Health Center
“I came in for birth control and I stayed 45 years.” I started at Planned Parenthood in 1974. I was a teen parent. I came in for family planning services, and they were hiring students during summer vacations. They hired me as a receptionist. Then they offered me a permanent job, and I’m still here. I became very attached to the women we worked with. Just being here for our patients, that’s what’s kept me going, especially our teens. It was something amazing, when we started serving our teens. I just love what I do. It’s very rewarding being able to help women with their health issues and concerns, especially when they are very scared or worried about the outcome of the tests we provided. At the end of the visit, they thank you and hug you. That makes you feel good. Many women confide in us that they are being abused. They want to cry out to someone but who can they cry out to if not us? We let them know there is help out there and give them the information to get help.
That has done miracles.
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In 2010, Planned Parenthood in San Antonio merged with the Planned Parenthood clinics in Brownsville and Harlingen. In 2013, the Brownsville clinic relocated to 870 E. Alton Gloor Boulevard.
When I started we served only women. Just a pap, breast exam, STD tests. Now look at all this, how we’ve progressed, serving men, the HPV testing and the vaccine, removing precancerous cervical cells, transgender care. Everything we have grown into, it’s huge, and we’re serving all kinds of people. We’ve gone through the attacks, losing the Texas Women’s Health Program, but we’re still here. I’m very grateful to our donors. If it weren’t for them, we might have closed our doors. I feel we’re stronger now because we’re offering so many other services.
“I’ll be here as long as I can. When I retire, I’ll probably come back and volunteer for Planned Parenthood.”
I’ve gone through a lot in 45 years. I became what I am because of Planned Parenthood. I’ve learned so much. A lot of people recognize me around town, I’ve been here so long. And I’ve served
women and then served their daughters and then the granddaughters. From one generation to another.
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who we are Thank you, Mayor Nirenberg! In September, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg presented Planned Parenthood South Texas an historic proclamation in honor of our 80th anniversary, commending us for being “the leading provider of reproductive health care in South Texas.” We are profoundly grateful for the mayor’s support of our work, and we’re just as grateful to everyone who supports our mission through donations, volunteering, and advocacy. That generous support has made our eight decades of service possible. Thank You.
(L-R) President & CEO Jeffrey Hons with Board members Ceci Goldstone, La Juana Chambers Lawson, Kathy Armstrong (Chair), Mayra Mendoza, Laurie Greenberg, MD, and Patricia Morales
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creative PHILANTHROPY Dudley Harris’ Annual Benefit Pottery Sale Dudley Harris is once again opening his serene estate and studios for his annual benefit pottery sale. As always, there will be a truly mesmerizing array of beautiful handcrafted pieces to admire and purchase. And, as always, a full 100% of the proceeds will come directly to Planned Parenthood South Texas. Give a gift—to yourself or a friend, and you give the gift of health care to one of our clients. That’s an inspired idea. Dudley’s pottery is itself inspiring. Many of us have talked about how it inspires us to cook more, or to luxuriate over dinners more. Some of us have even been inspired to try our hands at pottery. So, if you’d like to take the gift giving to another level, and if you’ve always wanted to study pottery with someone who has mastered the art, consider making a gift of $2,000 to Planned Parenthood directly. In exchange you (or your designee) will get to spend a day with Dudley learning how to throw on the wheel, use a slab roller and a Japanese clay cutter, and how to fire a kiln. Contact Angela for more information.
Angela.koester@ppsouthtexas.org
Saturday, December 14
See more pottery at thebeautifulbowl.com
YOU CAN’T USE UP
creativity
the more you use, the more you have maya angelou
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who we are patrons date night ❤ FEB 14, 2020 “The evolution of the American love life”
With cultural icon and groundbreaking writer
Armistead maupin
Tobin Center for the Performing Arts | Carlos Alvarez Theater Followed by drinks and light supper with Mr. Maupin at the Radius Center
O L V
E
Patrons, do you have plans for Valentine’s Day? Haven’t even begun thinking about it? We have. We’re planners, after all. And Valentine’s Day is sort of a big deal for us. Planned Parenthood exists because people love and make love. After 80 years of helping South Texans express their love in safe, healthy, responsible ways, we feel like we can talk about it with mission-driven credibility. Of course we couldn’t deliver on our mission without the support of our Patrons. Patrons fund the compassion we show our clients in the form of high quality, nonjudgmental, life enhancing care. Patrons are especially close to our hearts! That’s why we hope all Patrons will consider spending Valentine’s Day 2020 as our guest at this exclusive event.
Recently America’s attitude towards sex, sexuality and love has experienced evolution and revolution. Love, as always, is finding a way forward. That is truly something to celebrate—now, perhaps, more than ever. Be part of the celebration. Seating is very limited, so please let Angela know right away if you will be joining your fellow Patrons. If you have not yet renewed your Patron support, or if you would like to become a Patron for the first time by increasing your giving to $1,000 or more, please contact Angela. angela.koester@ppsouthtexas.org
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Launched in 1976 as a groundbreaking serial in the San Francisco Chronicle, Armistead Maupin’s iconic Tales of the City series has since blazed its own trail through popular culture—from a sequence of globally best-selling novels, to a Peabody Awardwinning television miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney, to a 2019 Netflix series based on the novels titled Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. The book series now encompasses eight hugely popular novels: Tales of the City, More Tales of the City, Further Tales of the City, Babycakes, Significant Others, Sure of You, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn, and The Days of Anna Madrigal. In 2017 Maupin wrote a memoir titled Logical Family which grew out of his critically acclaimed one-man show of the same name. In 2018 PBS’s Independent Lens featured The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, a film “examining the life and work of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose Tales of the City books have inspired millions to claim their own truth.”
“What Maupin has to say to all of us about love and tolerance is worth hearing. His novels are rich with humor and humanity, and it is no accident that he has often been favorably compared to Dickens.” — Linda Ellerbee
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who we are 2020 luncheon With activist and oscar-winning actress
patricia arquette
Friday, May 8 | Marriott Rivercenter Hotel Along with our Event Chairs, Katy Flato and Joan Wyatt, we’re very excited to share our plans with you for the 2020 Planned Parenthood Annual Luncheon. The funds generated by our Luncheon are what allow us to reach into the cracks of Texas’ broken health care system and lift people up. The cracks seem to grow bigger by the day under this current administration. But our work and our resolve are undiminished—because of you! If you’ve never sponsored the Luncheon before, we hope 2020 will be your year. If you have sponsored in the past, we hope that in addition to doing so again, you’ll encourage friends to do the same—maybe even teaming up with you to sponsor at a higher level. Patricia Arquette is certainly having a moment. Vanity Fair recently called the Oscar-winning actress “2019’s prestige TV queen” and “one of the great talents of her generation.” But as compelling as her acting is, it was Ms. Arquette’s testimony before Congress in April that really caused us to take notice. Ms. Arquette has become one of our nation’s most visible champions of the Equal Rights Amendment. (No, the Constitution of the United States still does not afford women equal protection under the law. Read more on page 33.) Patricia Arquette has not come lately to activism. She was raised in a socially conscious and active household where civil rights marches, union strikes and nuclear power sit-ins were routine. One of her most talked about moments of activism was her 2015 Oscar acceptance speech (for Richard Linklater’s Boyhood) when she demanded equal pay for women. While accepting a Screen Actors Guild award in January (for Escape at Dannemora) she thanked former FBI director Robert Mueller and “everyone working to make sure we have sovereignty for the United States of America.” In September, she turned her Emmy acceptance speech (for The Act) into an impassioned plea for transgender rights. Clearly Patricia Arquette has a lot to say. Her speech at our Luncheon next year, EQUALITY! NO MORE EXCUSES, should resonate with all of us. 30 | CELEBRATING 80 years
EQUALITY! NO MORE EXCUSES
Patricia Arquette has become one of our nation’s most visible champions of the Equal Rights Amendment.
who we are ”This isn’t 1789, and it’s not 1982.
It is time we step into our future.
A fair and equitable future
that women have waited so long for,
we’re done waiting.”
—Patricia Arquette
sponsorship Tables may be sponsored at the $3,000/Silver, $5,000/Gold, $10,000/ Platinum, or $25,000/Underwriter levels. A limited number of $1,000 Champagne tickets are available. For those of you who may be thinking about sponsoring at the Platinum or Underwriter levels, Patricia has agreed to be our guest at an intimate private dinner party the night before the Luncheon. Luncheon sponsors automatically become Patrons and are invited to Armistead Maupin's talk and Patron party on Valentine's Day. See page 26 for more details. So beyond the enjoyment of spending time in the company of 1,200 fiercely intelligent, compassionate friends (not to mention a legendary actress, and a celebrated writer!), why should you consider sponsoring Planned Parenthood’s 2020 Luncheon? Your financial support funds charity health care that allows our most economically disadvantaged patients to get the medical services they need. Planned Parenthood is on track to deliver $2.1 million worth of charity care to our patients in 2019, thanks to our sliding fee scale, which offers progressive discounts to people living at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. As lawmakers continue their assault on Planned Parenthood and turn their backs on low-income people, especially low-income women of color, we are determined to stand with our patients and provide them with the care they need to build the lives they imagine for themselves and their families. Your generosity makes that possible. 32 | CELEBRATING 80 years
reservations And as always, we are happy to work with you to accommodate whatever payment plan makes sponsorship practical for you. Payments for tables are not due in full until October of next year. The only real urgency is for you to please let us know if you would like a table before they sell-out. Please contact Angela at angela.koester@ppsouthtexas or Gladys at gladys.placencia@ppsouthtexas.org for more information, or go directly to www.ppsouthtexas.org to purchase your table.
Whatever happened to the Equal Rights Amendment?
Nearly a full century after women first called for a Constitutional amendment for women’s rights, women still do not have equal rights under U.S. law. Versions of the Equal Rights Amendment have been introduced into Congress repeatedly since 1923, often enjoying bilateral support, only to eventually stall. The proposed amendment would guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex—ending legal distinctions between men and women in terms of employment, property and other rights. Opposition has come from business interests, states’-rights advocates, and fundamentalist religious groups. ERA opponents have argued such a measure would promote abortion rights and marriage equality. It’s outrageous that the Constitution does not protect women’s rights in 2019. Apparently “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex” is still too controversial in the 21st century. 2019 winter horizons | 33
who we’re becoming
looking ahead Jeffrey Hons President & CEO For many years I’ve heard any number of my Planned Parenthood colleagues say, “We’re not your mother’s Planned Parenthood anymore.” I’m sure I’ve said the phrase myself, more than once, and it is true. Planned Parenthood has changed in many ways over the decades. What also strikes me, as we mark our 80th anniversary, is how much of who we are and what we do remains unchanged. That’s not entirely surprising. People are still having sex. People do not want to become pregnant every time they make love. Too often, still, we see adolescents becoming parents before they themselves become adults, and too-soon parenting still brings challenges and difficulties to a young family. Sexually transmitted diseases are still out there, and people need to manage their sex lives in ways that protect themselves, their partners, future fertility, and sexual functioning. HIV, while manageable with advanced pharmaceutical interventions, remains a threat to everyone, and new cases are on the rise in certain populations. Planned Parenthood will remain an essential health care provider, educator and advocate because people need us. It surprises me, and disappoints me, that government policies and support for these health concerns are waning lately. In 1988, when I began my career in family planning education, I was certain that support from government and society-at-large for these issues would only increase.
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Unfortunately, that’s not yet the case. As for our future … Our mobile health app, PP Direct, went live in the fall of 2018 providing oral contraception and treatment for urinary tract infection. I have every confidence that Planned Parenthood’s use of telemedicine will increase in the same way that the use of telemedicine is increasing throughout all manner of health care. Medical technology will continue to bring us new, increasingly effective ways to deliver care. For example, the HPV vaccine, available in our clinics for more than a decade, has the potential to dramatically reduce the risk factor for cervical cancer. Similarly, cervical cancer screening through co-testing (Pap and HPV testing) has improved our ability to detect this cancer before it is, actually, cancer. We must maintain readiness to return to federal family planning support. The current gag rule that excludes us is an action of Donald Trump, who will not be president forever. In time, a different president will strike down these absurd regulations. We must remember that the first legislation establishing federal family planning funds was sponsored by then—Congressman George Herbert Walker Bush and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. This is not about Republicans v. Democrats. There is broad support for family planning. Abortion rights and abortion access will strengthen. In the short term we face serious challenges in that an unfavorable decision at the newly-composed Supreme Court would likely destabilize the precedent of Roe v. Wade with grave implications for access to abortion in Texas and other conservative states. From that viewpoint, the future of abortion access seems bleak. But the future is with us. The overwhelming majority of Americans want some level of legal abortion. We need to organize around that and codify abortion rights into law, not just a Supreme Court decision. Further, and more important to the future, Americans under age 35 support abortion rights much more than prior generations. More broadly, their values and concerns align strongly with the mission of Planned Parenthood and the care we provide. This is the game changer. We need to do more to help people have the children they want— fertility assistance, prenatal care—the families they want, the futures they want. Already we’ve begun to provide limited fertility assistance in
2019 winter horizons | 35
who we’re becoming our clinics. That is a good beginning. Reproductive health care needs to include the care people need when they are trying to reproduce. America trusts Planned Parenthood with the most intimate aspects of their health care. We are well positioned to expand our services in this direction. Beyond sexual and reproductive health care, we need to provide more primary care. Already we provide some primary care to patients who come to us for their family planning. But we need to do more. Too much of our efforts and resources have gone into protecting and funding family planning while the Texas government, and now the federal government, divest in this essential health care. In time, as the policy position of government changes, we will be able to direct resources toward expanding the scope of our primary care. For every organization, every person, the future will require involvement in climate concerns. Our future clients will expect no less from us. Globally, population will be seen as a critical piece of climate concerns. We already know this. Humanity’s heavy footprint exacerbates every ecological threat we are experiencing. Planned Parenthood must increase our connection across a number of social justice movements. We need to add our voice to the collective volume calling for equality, justice and equity. Planned Parenthood has been a vital player in social progress for more than a century. We remain essential to social justice work. Our support adds strength to the fight. My mother was born in May of 1939, the precise month that the group of women who would become our first board of directors decided to open our first clinic, which they did the summer of that same year. Amidst all of the changes and progress at Planned Parenthood South Texas, I have kept in mind how “the promise of family planning” has been essential to the family my mother and father created. Simply put, when you can control the size of your family and the spacing of your children, life’s promise and possibility become more attainable. It was true for my siblings and me. It remains true. And in that regard, Planned Parenthood South Texas continues to belong to my mother, all our mothers and grandmothers, and to our children and grandchildren. Planned Parenthood belongs to everyone. 36 | CELEBRATING 80 years
At Planned Parenthood South Texas, we care passionately about helping South people lead At Planned Parenthood healthier lives. Texas, we care passionately about Medical Assistants, Advanced Practice Nurses, and other helping people lead healthier lives. positions join us in our mission to provide and protect the information people needAdvanced to plan their families and their Medical Assistants, Practice Nurses, futures. and other positions join us in our mission to provide and protect the information people need We offer a wide ofand career opportunities across seven to plan theirvariety families their futures. health centers in San Antonio and the lower Rio Grande Valley.We Experience is preferred, great training is provided offer a wide variety of but career opportunities for those with a desire to learn andingrow with our Planned across seven health centers San Antonio Parenthood and theteam. lower Rio Grande Valley. Experience is preferred, but great training is provided for those with a desire to learn & grow with our Planned Parenthood team.
ppsouthtexas.org/careers
@ ppsouthtexas 2019 winter horizons | 37
who we’re becoming tools for the future
“If there’s one thing people need to plan their families and their futures, it’s education.” So says Paula Saldaña, lead patient navigator of Habla Con Tu Hermana (Talk to Your Sister), our community education and patient navigation program. Our team of promotoras— state-certified community health workers who are bilingual in Spanish and English—travel around Cameron County to teach underserved women about sexual and reproductive health. “Education gives us power,” Paula says, who has been an educator for more than 20 years. “It gives us the ability to have control over our futures. All of us have dreams and hopes. For those of us who do form a family, we have hopes and dreams for our children. Without having the right knowledge, we wouldn’t be able to make decisions to make those dreams come true and make those goals happen.” Promotoras teach groups about birth control options—what’s available, how they work, and how to determine the best one for each person. They teach them about STDs, breast health, cervical cancer health, how to talk to kids about sexual health and responsibility, and more.
A woman feels for lumps in an educational breast model during an Habla Con Tu Hermana presentation.
38 | CELEBRATING 80 years
Paula Saldaña gives a presentation about breast health in San Benito.
In Texas schools, abstinence-only textbooks and curriculum standards leave generations of people poorly equipped to prevent pregnancy and STDs. In 2017, Texas had the seventh-highest teen birth rate, and in 2016, the state had the nation’s highest rate of repeat births to teens. “Girls don’t know about their anatomy or how to prevent pregnancy,” Paula says. “I encounter that all the time. Even when they can just search online and have it at their fingertips. The problem is, they don’t know where to look for the information and a lot of the information that’s out there is wrong.” Adult learners present a different challenge, Paula stated, because they often have to un-learn myths and misinformation they’ve believed for decades. “When we remove the blindfold around the wrong information they had about a certain issue, there’s that a-ha moment. It’s one of the reasons why I like educating people and why I do it. Sometimes I get the opportunity to see those people again and see how the information I gave them has impacted their lives, and it can make a real difference.” — Paula Saldaña 2019 winter horizons | 39
NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN ANTONIO, TX PERMIT NO. 1498
2140 Babcock Road | San Antonio, Texas 78229.4424 210.736.2244 | www.ppsouthtexas.org address service requested
From the exhibition Forward! Marches
That Move Us gallery visitors pose in front of a wall of recent handmade march signs. See Page 22.
dated material please deliver promptly