Longtime Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is purportedly preparing to step down from her role at the controversial women’s healthcare organization, according to a BuzzFeed report.
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Claims of Richards’ departure came from two sources who told the outlet that she is planning to vacate her prominent role after more than a decade leading Planned Parenthood. One source said that Richards, 60, has already informed some members of the board.
“Cecile plans to discuss 2018 and the next steps for Planned Parenthood’s future at the upcoming board meeting,” read a statement from a individual whom BuzzFeed described as a “Planned Parenthood official.” The board meeting is next week.
Life Site New reported that 3.5 million abortions unfolded at Planned Parenthood clinics during Richards’ more than decade-long tenure. The pro-life outlet has more:
Richards has overseen America’s largest abortion vendor since 2006. Her salary continually increased as did her tenure. She currently rakes in nearly a million dollars a year overseeing the organization that commits over 300,000 abortions annually.
During the Obama era, the abortion business had an ally in the White House. However, Richards still had to contend with investigations from Live Action and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) that revealed Planned Parenthood’s willingness to cover up child sex abuse, aid-and-abet sex traffickers, and profit from selling body parts of aborted babies.
Since President Trump took office, Planned Parenthood has increasingly sounded the alarm about the threat he and other pro-life Republicans pose to abortion-on-demand.
Richards’ book “Make Trouble” is due out in April. A description of the memoir promises that it is a “story about learning to lead and make change, based on a lifetime of fighting for women’s rights and social justice.”
News of Richards’ potential exit from the organization comes amid years of Planned Parenthood being under increased fire from Republicans and pro-life activists, alike. From a now-infamous undercover video sting about fetal body parts to constant legislative battles over funding, Planned Parenthood — and Richards — are no strangers to controversy.
The central issue that critics have with Planned Parenthood, of course, is the clinic chain’s standing as the nation’s largest abortion provider. Its clinics performed 321,384 abortions, alone, during the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2016.