Planned Parenthood President Leana Wen responded late Thursday to a recent report from the New York Times featuring employees who alleged that the nation’s largest abortion provider mistreated and discriminated against them due to their pregnancies.
In their report, the Times noted that “managers in some locations declined to hire pregnant job candidates, refused requests by expecting mothers to take breaks and in some cases pushed them out of their jobs after they gave birth, according to current and former employees in California, Texas, North Carolina and New York.”
Wen claimed in a statement that, while the abortion provider couldn’t comment on the specific allegations, it was launching a new initiative to address such concerns.
“At Planned Parenthood, we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment, and we strongly enforce our non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies,” she wrote. “If we learn about accusations, we move immediately to investigate and address them. For confidentiality reasons, we cannot comment on specific allegations, but make no mistake: if concerns are raised or complaints brought, we investigate immediately and, where necessary, take decisive action.”
“I believe we must do better than we are now,” she added. “It's our obligation to do better—for our staff, for their families, and for our patients.”
Wen announced that the abortion giant is launching “a major new initiative to review, revamp, and strengthen our parental leave policies and ensure a culture that supports pregnant and parenting staff.”
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“We will be seeking the advice of external experts who will work with the national office and affiliates to advise on best practices and assist us with implementation,” she said. “We will announce the results of the review, specific actions to be taken, and resources required in the fall of 2019.”
Aside from commenting that she was “disappointed” in the report, Wen’s statement contained no direct apology for the way the “women’s health organization” had been treating their pregnant employees even though she acknowledged that there was room for improvement.
She also couldn’t resist the opportunity to virtue signal to other organizations despite the abortion group’s own glaring faults.
“Planned Parenthood is stepping up,” she claimed. “We encourage other employers to do the same. And we will work with our partners in organized labor, family welfare, community development, reproductive justice, and progressive advocacy to ensure that we truly respect the dignity and well-being of all workers, all families, and all people.”
Planned Parenthood faced a lot of criticism from conservatives, pro-lifers, and others on Twitter following the report.
.@DrLeanaWen, it’s time for you to drop the word “parenthood” from Planned Parenthood.
— MarjorieDannenfelser (@marjoriesba) December 21, 2018
NYT: Planned Parenthood Is Accused of Mistreating Pregnant Employees https://t.co/RifDAsSj9M pic.twitter.com/I7zlAbvdZI
Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with parenthood, and everything to do with killing babies.
— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) December 20, 2018
And if you're wanting to be a parent, they will discriminate against you.
Glad the @nytimes is finally taking notice.https://t.co/OXoyPQU4PG
I love the assumption that if Planned Parenthood is doing it, it must be "prevalent." pic.twitter.com/xgD1uVgFmI
— James Taranto (@jamestaranto) December 20, 2018
Planned Parenthood: We champion women’s healthcare!
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) December 20, 2018
Also Planned Parenthood: Unless you’re a pregnant women employed by us... then you don’t get lunch or breaks & we might fire you.
Wait are you actually telling me Planned Parenthood doesn’t hold pregnant women in high regard? I just don’t know if I can believe in anything anymore. https://t.co/3N9xDzfp2E
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) December 20, 2018
"PLANNED PARENTHOOD" WONT LET THEIR EMPLOYEES PLAN PARENTHOOD. https://t.co/RmuG1JOmGl pic.twitter.com/gid9ATaock
— Alison H.Centofante (@AlisonHowardC) December 20, 2018
Women working at the Planned Parenthood abortion business say they are being discriminated against for being pregnant and becoming new mothers.
— Susan B. Anthony List (@SBAList) December 21, 2018
Is anyone surprised?
Planned Parenthood is fundamentally anti-pregnancy, anti-mothers and anti-life.https://t.co/UMUMIxPFab #ProLife
In fairness, pregnancy is extremely off brand for Planned Parenthood. https://t.co/ZVpeOr52DU
— David Marcus (@BlueBoxDave) December 20, 2018
An absolutely stunning story from @Nataliekitro and @jbsgreenberg: How Planned Parenthood discriminated against their own pregnant employees. This quote is just devastating https://t.co/ZXe1T2XHbu pic.twitter.com/nppt33FiJd
— Steadman (@AsteadWesley) December 20, 2018
“A former hiring manager at a Planned Parenthood in CA said that when internal promotions came up, supervisors openly debated whether candidates were likely to get pregnant in the near future and preferred those who were not.”
— Karen Swallow Prior (@KSPrior) December 20, 2018
“Pro-choice” indeed.
https://t.co/QKrK0c0j8G
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