Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Des Moines-based Planned Parenthood of the Heartland by December 31 of this year, the leaders of both affiliates announced today.  

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland was formed in 2009 through a merger of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa and Planned Parenthood of Nebraska and Council Bluffs. This year the organization expanded by merging with Planned Parenthood of East-Central Iowa in January and with Planned Parenthood of Southeast Iowa in June. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland is now the sole Planned Parenthood affiliate in Iowa, operating 25 health centers in this state and four in Nebraska as well as three Education Resource Centers in Des Moines, Lincoln, and Omaha.

In June, Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland “signed a management contract with intent to merge into one affiliate by January 1, 2012.” Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s President and CEO Jill June became interim president of the Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma affiliate as plans moved forward to provide “new services including adoption, sexual assault exams, male services, LGBT care, age appropriate education programs and more.”

Today Jill June, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland Board Chair Loree Miles and Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma Board Chair Kathleen Glasgow Sparks sent an e-mail message to supporters explaining a change in plans:

Thirty!

That’s the number of days until Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma (PPAEO) and Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PP Heartland) officially become one regional affiliate.

From day one, the operating boards of both affiliates have been committed to keeping the December 31, 2011, deadline for this union. Then we were told that if we continued to structure the merger as originally planned, it would require significantly more time and our deadline would not be met.

This was unacceptable.

Today we are happy to announce that the executive committees of each affiliate have agreed to change the structure of the consolidation. As of Dec. 31, 2011, PPAEO will become a wholly owned subsidiary of PP Heartland. PP Heartland will own and be responsible for all functions and operations of PPAEO.

In analyzing how best to restructure this consolidation, the focus was how to keep it smooth and seamless for our patients, staff and stakeholders while still realizing the goals set forth by both operating boards. Therefore, structuring PPAEO as a wholly owned subsidiary under PP Heartland allows us to move forward and conduct business under the PP Heartland name and brand.

This move brings us back to 30 days until its official. There is still a lot of work to do, and we all know the real work begins January 1.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland’s administrative office will remain in Des Moines. I expect this restructuring to spark new legislative efforts in Arkansas and Oklahoma to restrict abortion rights and other reproductive health care services.

Limits on abortion may again become an issue during the 2012 Iowa legislative session. This year the Republican-controlled Iowa House tried to prohibit most terminations beyond 20 weeks gestation, but that bill died in the Iowa Senate. Some House Republicans tried to force a vote on a “personhood” bill that would ban almost all abortions, and State Representative Kim Pearson has vowed to keep working toward that end in 2012. Controversy over Medicaid coverage of abortion in cases of rape, incest or fetal deformity was one of the last outstanding issues during state budget negotiations. The final compromise was struck on the last day before the start of a new fiscal year.

On a related note, I have not seen any recent reports on Dr. Leroy Carhart’s plans regarding a possible new abortion clinic in Council Bluffs. Carhart currently works in Omaha most of the time but travels regularly to his clinic in Germantown, Maryland, in order to perform late-term abortions. He had discussed opening a similar clinic in Council Bluffs after Nebraska banned abortions later than 20 weeks gestation. Republican efforts to ban late-term abortions in Iowa stemmed partly from a desire to prevent Carhart from relocating to this state. Meanwhile, Iowa Senate Democrats sought to block Carhart using the state’s certificate-of-need process, rather than broad limits on abortion rights. That bill passed the Iowa Senate on a party-line vote, but House Republicans rejected that approach.

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