I am Kathryn Parker. I have been a resident of Albemarle County for 8 years. From 1981-1996 I was President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge. I am proud to say that the Charlottesville Planned Parenthood Center was established during my tenure, and it has flourished with the strong support of our community since it opened in May 1990.

The founding group who asked Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge, based in Roanoke, to assist them in establishing a Charlottesville Center included physicians, student health and health department professionals, heads of youth-serving agencies, educators, community leaders and philanthropists. Many of those founders are in this auditorium today. Their common bond was and continues to be a commitment to advancing reproductive health and education services that improve the health and lives of women and their families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle community. Over the years, support for Planned Parenthood's education, health care and public policy programs has grown and the center has increased both the range of services it offers and the number of people it has served.

Opponents are not new to Planned Parenthood but their tactics have changed. The vocal minority who oppose reproductive freedom have been frustrated in their efforts to force their beliefs on the majority who favor reproductive choice. So, they have adopted an incremental approach to making access to birth control and abortion services more difficult and less available. Bills in our Virginia legislature that would require abortion providers to meet hospital standards are just one example of their tactics.

In order to safeguard the reproductive health care services for women and their families in our community, Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge built the new Herbert Jones Center for Reproductive Health to meet the standards of our opponent's legislation at considerable additional expense. Make no mistake about it: this attack on Planned Parenthood's certificate of occupancy has nothing to do with zoning. It is a very transparent, orchestrated and desperate attempt by anti-choice groups to block access to reproductive health care services provided by Planned Parenthood because Planned Parenthood pre-empted their agenda by building the center.

Planned Parenthood has been a good citizen in our community for 14 years. Through its education, health and public affairs programs, PP has contributed to the well-being and health of thousands of people in our region.

Kathryn Parker (electronic mail, November 10, 2004)