Early in her tenure, for instance, Dr. Wen directed her staff to add new pages to the Planned Parenthood website about topics like asthma and the common cold — conditions that its clinics do not typically treat. The internal turmoil underscores one of the group’s central tensions: Is it a political organization or a health organization first? And can it be both at a time when abortion has been elevated to a prominent and incendiary issue in the 2020 presidential election — and where a middle ground has all but disappeared? “Planned Parenthood occupies a unique position as both a health care provider and an advocate, which nobody else needs to do,” said Jess McIntosh, a Democratic strategist who has consulted with reproductive rights groups including Naral and Emily’s List. Some employees chafed at a handbook for special assistants that circulated after she arrived, which featured one top bullet point reading, “All emails from Dr. Wen sent the night before should be answered immediately before anything else is done.”

Source: New York Times July 18, 2019 00:23 UTC