A post by Brittney Gilbert over at Nashville is Talking celebrating South Dakota’s Oglala Sioux tribe President Cecilia Fire Thunder’s promise to open a Planned Parenthood clinic on her sovereign land prompted the usual hateful rhetoric including the tossing around of the dreaded “anarchist” as an epithet and the labeling of all Planned Parenthood clinics as “baby-killing franchises.”

In light of that discussion, today seemed like a really good day to release our interview with Mark Huffman, Vice President of Education and Training for Planned Parenthood of Middle & East Tennessee. If you’re reading this and you have any pre-conceived ideas about Planned Parenthood, please listen to this interview. Mark is an excellent resource and representative for an organization that not only offers abortion services but also support, adoption counseling, gynecological examinations, sex education, contraception and much, much more to mostly low-to-moderate income women and men. Click here to listen.

By the way, Mark spoke at the press conference/rally held right after SJR127 was passed by our state Senate. His far-sighted remarks are eloquent and reasonable. Click here to read them.

After reading the NIT discussion and listening to the interview again, I still have one burning question: why is it that many anti-choice legislators and activists are unable to sympathize with the mother? When questions are raised about the mother’s health and well-being (whether physical or emotional) they are ignored or deflected. Many that are pro-choice can understand their side and see the moral implications of terminating an unplanned pregnancy. Why can’t they admit that the mother’s health is important as well?

This post was written by Mary Mancini