Oregon
Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oregon map out long-term strategy – Salem Reporter
Planned Parenthood in Oregon is restructuring its advocacy and public policy arm to set the stage for expanding and bolstering reproductive health care access in the years to come.
Officials from the state’s two Planned Parenthood affiliates, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette and Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, said Tuesday they are planning a new advocacy organization with 10 to 20 staffers. The new organization will replace Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, which is the lobbying and public policy organization that advances the organization’s work.
The change coincides with record demand for abortion services. Planned Parenthood health centers throughout Oregon have seen a nearly 50% increase in demand since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The court’s decision didn’t restrict abortion access in Oregon, but allowed other states, including Idaho, to ban or restrict abortion access, prompting pregnant people to travel from out of state to seek care in Oregon.
Planned Parenthood’s clinics will continue their current operations. Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette has clinics in the Portland area, Bend, Ontario and Vancouver and Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon serves people in Eugene and Medford.
Planned Parenthood officials said the organization is the largest abortion provider in Oregon, but they didn’t immediately have the total number of abortions performed last year. In 2023, the Oregon Health Authority preliminary data shows that nearly 8,940 abortions were performed in the state, up from more than 8,670 in 2022.
Planned Parenthood also offers other services, like testing for sexually transmitted infections and screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette provided nearly 6,800 abortions in fiscal year 2023, and dispensed emergency contraceptives nearly 9,900 times. The organization, which also serves patients in southwest Washington, had nearly 56,000 patient visits. Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon served nearly 14,000 patients in fiscal year 2023.
The new advocacy organization and changes will not go into effect until after the November general election. The new organization does not yet have a name.
“The purpose is to continue all of that important advocacy work around advocating for and protecting abortion rights and sexual reproductive health care rights,” Dr. Sara Kennedy, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, said in an interview. “We’re adding just really a sharpened focus on how the Planned Parenthood affiliates keep their doors open to continue to care for the patients who need us most in Oregon.”
The current advocacy organization has three employees. The new organization’s staff of up to 20 will include field staff, public policy representatives and support staff. Planned Parenthood officials will first hire a chief of external affairs to strengthen statewide communications and its advocacy work at all levels of government, including state agencies like the Oregon Health Authority and local entities. That chief of external affairs will be announced first, they said.
“This is really a structural change that we had to make to ensure that we could build a bigger, bolder team and so and bigger, bolder advocacy,” said Amy Handler, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon.
Planned Parenthood clinics primarily serve low-income people and those enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid plan.
It’s not clear how much of the increase in demand is from out-of-state patients. Kennedy said Planned Parenthood doesn’t ask patients where they are coming from, though, in general, providers know patients fly and drive in from all over the country, including Idaho.
“We are working to try to build out our operations and be able to increase access, both for the rural and remote Oregonians, and also for folks traveling from across the border,” Kennedy said.
Planned Parenthood is working on an analysis that will continue through the end of the year to determine where to open new clinics based on where access is limited and where it would benefit people the most to have new centers or services, Kennedy said. In general, she said, areas in Oregon that have limited providers and access include coastal areas and eastern Oregon outside of Ontario.
“The North Star is how do we continue to do that for patients and grow and expand?” Kennedy said. “That’s where we’re going. We are going to be bigger and stronger and trying to expand, to see even more people. That’s the whole point of all of this.”
Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter.
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Ben Botkin covers justice, health and social services issues for the Oregon Capital Chronicle. He has been a reporter since 2003, when he drove from his Midwest locale to Idaho for his first journalism job. He has written extensively about politics and state agencies in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. Most recently, he covered health care and the Oregon Legislature for The Lund Report. Botkin has won multiple journalism awards for his investigative and enterprise reporting, including on education, state budgets and criminal justice.
BLUE RIVER, Ore. (KATU) — The founder of a former disaster relief nonprofit is being sued for allegedly diverting nearly $837,000 in donations and grants for personal gain.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed the lawsuit Thursday against the founder and executive director of Cascade Relief Team (CRT), Marcus Brooks. In the complaint, Rayfield calls CRT “a sham.”
Brooks is accused of stealing donations and government grants meant for disaster relief following wildfires and flooding in 2020, and using it for personal expenses including casino visits, travel, vehicles, and more.
CRT was founded in 2020 and was hired for cleanup and relief services following the Labor Day Wildfires that burned over 1 million acres across Oregon.
In Blue River, an unincorporated community in the McKenzie River Valley, the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire destroyed nearly 800 homes and burned more than 173,000 acres.
I am angry that my community was taken advantage of
Just months after the fire, long-time Blue River resident Melanie Stanley said CRT stepped in and promised help to the community.
“For us, it was…like a savior at that point,” Stanley said.
Stanley was the manager for the Blue River Resource Center and worked for Brooks to help facilitate recovery efforts. She said CRT operations slowly became questionable.
“None of us knew the level at which all of this stuff that finally came out was at,” Stanley said. “We knew that there was some stuff that had started to look hinky or feel hinky, or there was just some lack of communication that was happening. There were some other things that were happening, and so we just all were kind of guarded.”
In fall of 2023 the nonprofit was reported to have run out of money, and Brooks allegedly fired staff without disclosing the organization’s financial conditions and did not notify donors or beneficiaries. Stanley was one of those people fired.
The state now claims the funds that were meant to go towards communities like Blue River, never made it out of Brooks’ hands, including donations given by Blue River neighbors.
“I am angry that my community was taken advantage of, and I am angry that they now have to worry about trusting when something else happens, because we know something else is going to happen,” Stanley said. “We hope to God it’s never anything as big or as bad as what has happened, but you know, we also have learned that groups like Locals Helping Locals…they are our foundation, and they are because they’re us.”
The state is seeking to recover the money, permanently bar Brooks from serving in a leadership role at a charitable organization and dissolve the nonprofit.
Stanley said Brooks’ actions have tainted reputations.
“We as a community and as the people from the community who helped kind of put all of these things together, we did what was asked of us,” Stanley said. “We did help clean things, and we did help get things to provide, you know, more progress and get things moving forward, and we did good work, and so I just really hope that this is not overshadowed.”
According to Stanley, Blue River’s recovery now stands at 50%.
“We will be very picky from here on out about who and what groups gets let in to help with anything,” Stanley said. “And sadly, it may be to our detriment, but he did more damage now, as far as reputations go, and for that I’m angry. I’m very angry.”
The Oregon Ducks have been progressing through the class of 2027 with hopes of landing some of their top target’s commitment on both the offense and the defense.
With many names left on the board, the Ducks have started to receive some great news, including some news from someone they have been targeting since they offered back in January of 2025.
Darius Johnson Releases His Top Four Schools
One of the Ducks top targets’ in the 2027 class at the cornerback position is Darius Johnson. Johnson recently released his top schools with Hayes Fawcett, as he is entering a crucial part of his recruitment. The four schools he has listed at the top include the California Golden Bears, Michigan Wolverines, UCLA Bruins, and the Oregon Ducks.
Johnson is one of the better cornerbacks in the country. He currently ranks as the nation’s No. 178 prospect in the country, No. 20 player at the position, and the No. 14 player in the state of California, according to Rivals. Landing his commitment would be major for any of the schools, as he is someone who could see the field early due to his size, and his growing ability to lockdown a side of the field all by himself.
More About Darius Johnson
Johnson currently measures in at 6-1 and 155 pounds, and will be someone who continues to add weight through his high school program, and will eventually have the chance to really improve his frame when he gets to college. As of now, each of the four schools has a solid chance to win its recruiting battle, but there seems to be a clear leader at this moment.
The leader for the Ducks target seems to be the Michigan Wolverines, who have the only scheduled official visit at this moment. It seems likely that the talented prospect will schedule his other official visits sooner rather than later now that he has officially cut down his list. If the Ducks want to land his commitment, they will need to get him on an official visit because they are likely trailing at this point.
What If He Committed to Oregon Today?
If he were to commit to the Ducks today, he would be the ninth commitment for the Ducks in the class of 2027. He would also be the third cornerback commit for the Ducks in the class of 2027, which is a position they have been recruiting heavily. The cornerbacks the Ducks have at this moment are four-star Ai’King Hall from the state of Alabama and four-star Josiah Molden from the state of Oregon.
Some of their other commits at this moment include four-star EDGE Rashad Streets, four-star defensive linemen Zane Rowe, and four-star EDGE Cameron Pritchett. This class is shaping up to be another top-five class if the pieces continue to fall into place for Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his staff.
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