Planned Parenthood picks Oneco for clinic
Donna Wright, Bradenton Herald
March 4, 2008
Planned Parenthood of Southwest Florida announced Monday that its first health clinic in Manatee County will be located in Oneco.
"The lease has been signed," said Barbara Zdravecky, chief executive officer and president of the Planned Parenthood Southwest and Central Florida. "It has been my goal to help reduce the high teen pregnancy rate and high teen, repeat-birth rates in Manatee County ever since I joined Planned Parenthood 14 years ago."
Zdravecky hopes to open the clinic within six to eight weeks in the Forest Park health complex at 1105 53rd Ave. E.
The clinic will offer family planning education, birth control and contraceptive counseling as well as health and cancer screenings. No abortions will be performed at the Oneco clinic, Zdravecky said.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, stood by Zdravecky's as she made the announcement at a press conference prior to the Florida organization's 42nd annual dinner at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium.
"I am here to help celebrate the incredible effort that has happened here," said Richards, who is the daughter of the late Ann Richards, former governor of Texas.
"Opening a clinic in Manatee County is what Planned Parenthood is all about. We identify a need and then put together a plan to make it happen," she said.
To date $220,000 has been raised to start the Oneco clinic, all from Manatee donors, Zdravecky said. "We need to raise just $30,000 more by May 1 to reach our goal of $250,000 to open the doors."
The regional affiliate has raised a total of $9.5 million toward its capital campaign to build a new headquarters in Sarasota and open additional clinics in Tampa and northern Hillsborough County.
News of the Oneco clinic thrilled Karen Stewart, former chairwoman of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force and a Bradenton resident.
"What a great location," Stewart said. "We really need this clinic. The teen pregnancy rates in Manatee County are much higher than the state and national averages. Teens need a recognizable place where they can go to get information regarding contraception and abstinence information - and Planned Parenthood does both."
But Zdravecky's announcement was unsettling for Jacqueline Spierenburg of Bradenton, who fears the limited clinic will become, in time, a full-service abortion clinic.
"This clinic is just a duplication of services that are now available at the health department," Spierenburg said. "I believe if someone is pregnant, they will just refer them to their abortion clinic in Sarasota."
While Spierenburg was not among the protestors Monday night, she has carried signs in the past.
"We have to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves. We have lost the creative abilities of an entire generation. Who knows what could have happened in arts, science and in the workplace if we had not lost all those babies," she said.
Zdravecky has learned to take the protestors in stride.
"They are getting older and so are we. When I started with Planned Parenthood is was hard to get 40 people in a room to stand up with me. But today, we have a lot of excited people who know we have a great service to offer," she said.
"One out of every four women in America depend on Planned Parenthood for their health care," said Richards. "They come to us to get first-rate, affordable health care."
As more than 600 Planned Parenthood supporters cheered inside, a handful of protestors silently waved signs to passing traffic. One of the protestors, who declined to give her name, said the protesters were from an independent group representing various local churches.
Stewart admitted that it has been hard to define a common ground among supporters and opponents of Planned Parenthood.
"The common ground is really shaky here is Manatee County and while we have been trying to find that common ground, teens have still been getting pregnant," she said. "This clinic is long overdue."