Response to Offensive Phone Call Prompts Planned Parenthood to Retrain Workers

Planned Parenthood Federation of America has stepped up efforts to train staff members in how to respond to offensive phone calls, following the release last month of tapes in which charity employees appeared to encourage a caller who said he wanted to support abortions for black women because the “less black kids out there the better.”

The caller, a law student and adviser to an anti-abortion student magazine at the University of California at Los Angeles, represented himself as a donor in calls last July to Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country.

The phone calls were made by the magazine, The Advocate, as part of what its editors describe as an “undercover investigation into [the charity’s] business practices,” including “targeting minorities with abortions.”

YouTube Video

In February edited versions of two of the calls appeared online on YouTube.

In one recorded conversation with a staff member at Planned Parenthood of Idaho, the caller says: “I really face trouble with affirmative action and I don’t want my kids being disadvantaged, you know, against black kids.”

Autumn Kersey, vice president of development and marketing, responds, “Absolutely.”

She also tells the caller that he could designate his gift to “help an African-American woman in need.”

Following the release of the tapes, Planned Parenthood of Idaho suspended Ms. Kersey.

Rebecca Poedy, the charity’s president, said the organization regretted the way the call was handled, but that the recording misrepresented the values of Ms. Kersey and the organization.

“What we have here is an employee who got caught in the crosshairs of an anti-choice extremist group whose sole motivation was to behave in a deceptive way,” Ms. Poedy said.

“This employee feels really horrible about this situation,” Ms. Poedy said. “She has had an exemplary performance record with our organization and the call is in no way reflective of what she believes or what we believe.”

Added Training

Because of the disturbing tenor of the call, Ms. Kersey reported the conversation to her supervisor last summer. Since then, the Idaho affiliate has been providing additional training to employees in how to respond to offensive comments and effectively communicate the charity’s mission.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the national organization, has also been examining its policies and how it trains staff members since the phone campaign came to light in July, said Kim Meredith, chief development officer.

The group has been more explicit about stating that it does not accept contributions that are aimed at particular groups of people. It has provided training to its affiliates and will include a session on dealing with difficult calls during its conference of fund raisers in August.

The nonprofit organization has not seen any fallout from donors because of the incident, said Ms. Meredith. “They know our commitment to our clients and that Planned Parenthood is vulnerable to attacks from opponents,” she said.

Ms. Poedy said the incident shows that charity staff members need to understand how changes in the ways people communicate information can affect their work.

“Online technologies really bypass old standards of decency,” she said. “Organizations really have to pay attention to the public nature of communications in today’s environment.”