A job posting from Planned Parenthood to bring a community organizer to Chattanooga is triggering concern among local anti-abortion advocates, even as the organization says it has no plans to open a clinic in the area.
The community organizer is one of two positions, along with a health educator, for which Planned Parenthood is hiring in Chattanooga, said Savannah Bearden, director of communications for Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi.
Bearden said the positions will help organize supporters of expanded reproductive health access, including what policies are being discussed and how to advocate. Planned Parenthood has not had a staff member based in Chattanooga since 2005, she said. In the years since, staff from Knoxville or Nashville helped with efforts in Chattanooga.
“East Tennessee, in general, is so integral to our efforts and we have a ton of East Tennessee supporters,” Bearden said. “Our supporters in Chattanooga have voiced that they would like more of a presence. They want to be more looped into the things that we’re doing.”
But the possibility of a group like Planned Parenthood, which supports access to safe and legal abortions, having an increased presence in Chattanooga has those opposed to the procedure prepared to mobilize.