POSTED: 8:29 am EDT June 19, 2007
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- The YMCA's community outreach director in Manchester is resigning after an after-school program run by the organization with the Manchester School District ended up taking some middle school students to visit Planned Parenthood.
A statement from YMCA president Harold Jordan said the director, Joyce Palmer, takes full responsibility for the decision and realizes it was inappropriate to include Planned Parenthood without the proper notification, permission and involvement of parents and the school district.
Jordan said Palmer and the YMCA have "reached a mutual agreement" that she will resign at the end of the school year and a new director will be appointed.
The students are part of the YMCA's STAY program, for students considered at risk of dropping out of school, abusing drugs or getting trouble with the law.
Earlier this month, STAY workers included Planned Parenthood on a tour of several social service agencies in the city to show the students where they could go for support over the summer.
The Planned Parenthood educator who met with the students described services the clinic officers; she didn't mention abortion, although several anti-abortion protesters outside the clinic spoke to the children.
The school board and the YMCA investigated what had happened, and the New Hampshire Right to Life asked for equal time with the students.
A statement made by Nancy Mosher, President/CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Action Fund, said the health center promotes "family communication and health in an era where teens are deluged by a highly sexualized popular culture."
"Our community educator’s brief presentation to these at-risk kids focused solely on preventive health," Mosher said. "Ironically, it was the protesters who raised the abortion issue as they clustered around the students, thrusting brochures at them."
She went on to say that PPNNE provides a safe and supportive environment where teens and parents are provided with the skills and health care they need.
"Our goal is to be a bridge -- not a wedge -- between parents and their teens," she said.
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http://www.nbc4.com/education/13526704/detail.html
