Planned Parenthood regularly discriminates against its pregnant employees, according to a New York Times report.
Shocking. Who could have predicted that the nation’s largest provider of abortions would take a dim view of motherhood?
“Employers that champion women face accusations of discriminating against their pregnant workers, showing how widespread the problem is in American workplaces,” reads the subhead to the Times’ expose.
The story, titled “Planned Parenthood Is Accused of Mistreating Pregnant Employees,” goes to great lengths to uncover the culture of discrimination within the so-called women’s health group, including managers who consider “pregnancy in hiring decisions” and employees being denied “rest breaks recommended by a doctor.”
“In other cases, the bias was more subtle. Many women said they were afraid to announce a pregnancy at work, sensing they would be seen as abandoning their colleagues,” the Times article reads. “Some of those employers saw accommodating expecting mothers as expensive and inconvenient. Others were unsympathetic to workers seeking special treatment.”
It’s a well-reported story. However, even though the Times does good work exposing the alleged wrongdoings of the organization, it’s hard to look past the article’s unintentionally humorous tone (humorous, at least, to someone who recognizes Planned Parenthood for what it is: a place where mothers go to become not that). I was kidding when I asked who could’ve predicted that the abortion giant would mistreat pregnant women. The Times is deadly serious.
“Discrimination against pregnant women and new mothers remains widespread in the American workplace. It is so pervasive that even organizations that define themselves as champions of women are struggling with the problem,” the report reads. “That includes Planned Parenthood, which has been accused of sidelining, ousting or otherwise handicapping pregnant employees.”
The “even Planned Parenthood” tenor of the Times’ coverage says more about the newspaper than it does about the supposed health organization. Only Planned Parenthood groupies and the ignorant should be surprised to learn that the organization that places a low value on motherhood actually places a low value on motherhood. Mistreatment of expectant mothers isn’t a glitch at Planned Parenthood, it’s the entire business model.
[Read more: Majority of Planned Parenthood’s regional offices don’t provide paid maternity leave]
The Times article reminds me of those breathless stories one sees every now and then where it is reported that the pornography industry has a pervasive sexism problem. Not to downplay or defend the seriousness of sexism and abuse, but I wouldn’t describe those stories as “shocking.” Depressing, yes, but not surprising. (If you’re surprised to learn that pornographers regularly fail to honor the inherent human dignity of their employees, man, I don’t know what to tell you.)
Similarly, Planned Parenthood isn’t in the business of honoring and defending motherhood. Just the opposite, actually. It terminated 321,384 pregnancies in 2016 alone. It’s terrible that the organization’s pregnant employees are being discriminated against, but no one should expect differently from the group whose core function is the destruction of motherhood.
