Why I Canceled My Monthly Gift to Planned Parenthood

This was the political flyer that arrived in the mail this week.

We honestly could not believe that it was supported by Planned Parenthood so we dug in to investigate.

Unfortunately, it’s true.

I have supported Planned Parenthood since college, when I served as the health worker for my sorority. That role taught me how much it matters to have a place to go for care without judgment. For decades I've given a monthly donation because I trusted Planned Parenthood to stand with the people our healthcare system leaves out.

My Mom and my sister Lisa brought Planned Parenthood's opposition to Prop 40 to my attention. Lisa is a community organizer who rescues food, feeds and cares for people. When she reached out to people she knows at Planned Parenthood, the reply she got confirmed their opposition with what looked like a copy-and-paste defense of it. She encouraged me to write this post, and I'm grateful to them both for the discussion about this.

Then this week a political mailer arrived. A nurse in scrubs, a headline about healthcare providers opposing Prop 40, and at the bottom, the Planned Parenthood logo.

If you haven't followed it yet, Prop 40 is on the November 3 ballot. It asks the couple hundred billionaires in California to pay a one-time 5% tax on their net worth, which they can spread over five years. Ninety percent of the money would go to health care, mostly Medi-Cal, to help cover federal cuts that will cost California about $30 billion a year in Medi-Cal funding.

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California opposes it. You can see their name on the list of opponents in the official state voter guide: voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/40/arguments-rebuttals.html

Their CEO, Jodi Hicks, says the organization supports taxing billionaires, and her objection is that the measure doesn't spell out how the money would be distributed. I take that concern seriously. I also see that the No campaign they joined is funded in large part by billionaires, and that dozens of Planned Parenthood's own staff signed a public letter saying this position conflicts with the organization's mission.

So I canceled my monthly gift, and I sent Planned Parenthood this letter:

Dear Planned Parenthood Donor Services,

Please cancel my recurring monthly donation, effective immediately.

I have given to Planned Parenthood for decades because you stand with the people our healthcare system leaves behind. That is why Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California's opposition to Prop 40 lands so hard. This week a No on Prop 40 mailer arrived at my home with your logo on it. The campaign behind it is funded in large part by billionaires through the Building a Better California PAC. I never expected Planned Parenthood to lend its name and its hard-earned trust to protecting the wealth of about 250 people, while more than a million Californians face losing Medi-Cal coverage.

I have read Jodi Hicks's explanation that the measure lacks clarity about how the funds would reach patients. If the distribution rules concerned you, you had the platform and the relationships to push for better ones. You chose to join the opposition instead, alongside people with deep pockets and little interest in the patients you serve.

Your own staff saw this before I did. Dozens of them signed a letter saying this position conflicts with your mission. I agree with them, and I am disappointed that leadership did not listen.

My monthly giving will go to organizations whose advocacy matches their mission. If PPAC reverses its position, I would welcome the chance to come back.

Tres Jiménez

How you vote on Prop 40 is yours to decide, and I'd rather you read both sides than take my word for it. The voter guide link above has the arguments for and against. If this moves you, say something. Write to Planned Parenthood at plannedparenthood.org/donor-services, write to me, or bring it up at your next dinner table.

Where do you want your giving to go?