Planned Parenthood announces new president, pro-life advocates react

September 13, 2018 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2018 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore City Commissioner of Health, is the new president of Planned Parenthood. The abortion provider announced Wen’s appointment on Sept. 12. She replaces Dr. Cecile Richards, who was appointed to the role in 2006.

In a three-minute video posted by Planned Parenthood announcing her hiring, Wen described her immigrant background–she moved to the United States from China at the age of eight–and her past work as an emergency room doctor and as the health commissioner of Baltimore.

“Reproductive health care is health care. Women’s health care is health care, and health care has to be understood as a fundamental human right,” said Wen in the video.

“Having a physician as the head of Planned Parenthood–it is a sign that what we are doing is mainstream medical care.”

While Wen stressed her enthusiasm for the role, former Planned Parenthood clinic director-turned-pro-life activist Abby Johnson told CNA that she hopes to one day welcome Wen into her ministry for former abortion industry workers.

“Doctors take an oath to first ‘do no harm’ and when it comes to pregnant women, there are two patients. Doctors understand this, even those who do abortions,” said Johnson.

“We have had seven abortionists come through our ministry at And Then There Were None–they left their jobs and realized they could authentically practice that oath elsewhere. It’s my hope that Dr. Leana Wen, Planned Parenthood’s new president, comes to realize the atrocity of abortion for both mom and baby. We are here when she decides to quit and to use her talents to first do no harm.”

Wen is the first physician to lead Planned Parenthood in five decades. In a statement on Twitter, she said her new position was “an incredible honor and privilege” and that she was “proud to stand alongside millions of (the organization’s) supporters as we embark on this next chapter together.

Americans United for Life President and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster said in a statement that she believes that Wen “puts politics ahead of women’s health,” and that she has an “abysmal and tragic record” combatting sexually transmitted diseases from her time in Baltimore.

During Wen’s time as a city commissioner for health, Maryland had some of the highest diagnosis rates in the country for diseases such as syphilis and HIV/AIDS, said Foster.

“Without irony, Wen further hails the ‘life saving work’ of the nation’s largest abortion network, even though Baltimore’s African-American community has been decimated by abortion.”

While in her post in Baltimore, Wen sued the Trump administration over funding cuts to a grant for teen pregnancy prevention programs. The funding was eventually restored.

Foster was also critical of Wen’s attack on conscience rights, saying “[Wen] refers to the principled decisions of doctors and nurses to refrain from the destruction of innocent human lives as ‘refusals,’ and teamed up with NARAL in the attempt to force pro-life pregnancy centers to refer for abortions.”

Planned Parenthood is the largest provider of abortions in the United States. In 2016, the organization performed about one out of every three abortions, the largest single share by far.

While Wen emphasised the “basic health care” offered by Planned Parenthood, the past decade has seen its number of patients decline by about 700,000, while the number of cancer screenings, contraceptives distributed, and prenatal services provided by the organization decreased as well.

Abortions, however, have increased by about 10 percent since 2006, despite Planned Parenthood seeing fewer patients.

The amount of federal funding received by Planned Parenthood increased by 61 per cent over the past decade. In 2016, Planned Parenthood received over half a billion dollars in federal funds.

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U.S. bishops make ‘the suffering of Lebanon’ priority with election of Maronite to key post

November 20, 2022 Catholic News Agency 2
Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles is the chairman-elect for the U.S. bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. / Screenshot of YouTube video

Baltimore, Md., Nov 20, 2022 / 04:00 am (CNA).

One of the two Maronite Bishops in the United States was elected to lead the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on International Justice and Peace this past week in Baltimore. 

Bishop Abdallah Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, who originally hails from Lebanon, spoke with CNA after his election about the Church’s role amid the political and economic turmoil in his home country. 

“The Lebanese people are suffering,” said Zaidan, who will serve a term from November 2023 to November 2026. 

“Definitely with all the difficulties Lebanon is facing — and now, Lebanon is somewhat ignored — it’s not a priority for many of the countries, especially with the war in Ukraine and other fronts.” 

The committee’s mission is to advise the U.S. bishops on international issues. Zaidan, who has been a committee member, was chosen as chair over Archbishop Nelson Pérez of Philadelphia by a vote of 148-95. He succeeds Bishop David J. Malloy, of Rockford, Illinois. 

Zaidan listed a plethora of struggles causing instability in the country including its seeming inability to elect a new president, its devalued and inflated currency, and high unemployment rates. 

“Plus, everything is becoming more expensive and employment is very high in Lebanon because of the uncertainty and corruption, and unfortunately you don’t have the basic infrastructure from electricity and other people have to do it on their own,” he said.

“Plus, everything is becoming more expensive. Unemployment is very high in Lebanon because of the uncertainty and corruption,” he said, adding that due to a lack of infrastructure for electricity and other necessities “people have to do it on their own.”

Zaidan said that if Lebanese citizens have family outside the country who can financially support them in small ways “that little hundred dollars makes a big difference for them.”

But, he added, “if they don’t have anybody it’s very difficult and that’s why people would like to leave.”

Despite the many unfortunate circumstances burdening the Lebanese people, Zaidan said that the Church in Lebanon is doing whatever it can to be close to the suffering people. He praised the work of Caritas Internationalis, the church’s humanitarian arm, in using its resources to keep people alive.

“Often the priest is what we call the main person you go to because he knows his people. He knows who are the needy, who don’t have any other one to help them,” he said. 

Zaidan said that many priests are calling their bishops and taking the initiative to assist their flock.

He said he wanted to send a message of thanks to the parish priest in Lebanon and to “commend him for standing with his people and being part of that and serving them with all the difficulties going through himself and to stay there and do his best for his people.”

Zaidan also urged “everybody here and wherever they are to first keep Lebanon in your mind. Keep our brothers and sisters in your mind, in your prayers, and whatever you could spare here could make a big difference in Lebanon,” he said.

Zaidan said that Christ is closest to the people who are suffering and needy. 

“We need to know [that] anyone who’s in need, whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you’ve done it to me, Christ told us,” he said. Zaidan said that there are many inspiring stories about people who are in need, and who assist someone who is in a worse situation than they are. 

“It’s amazing,” he said. 

Zaidan said that the Maronites in Lebanon played a significant role in making Lebanon a great country. He said that Maronite Patriarch Elias Hoyaek de Helta who served from 1898-1931 “was instrumental in making Lebanon great as in its own borders today.”

Zaidan said that it’s important for Lebanon to be a “beacon of hope” and a “haven” for Christians in the Middle East. 

“Lebanon, as John Paull II said, is a message between the East and the West, between the Christians and the Muslim — and also among the Christians — between the Catholics and Orthodox, as well.

“It’s a unique mission from that perspective,” he said. 

Zaidan said that many Lebanese migrated to the United States over the past hundred years.

“We always think about Lebanon as the mother church and the branches who are spread all over the world and are present in different parts of the world,” he said. 

“Hopefully, we could bear fruits and let the mother church enjoy some of those fruits as well,” Zaidan said.

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