Planned Parenthood — you know, the liberal organization whose leaders claim to be the unrivaled champions of women — is now taking heat for reportedly discriminating against pregnant employees.
According to a new report from The New York Times, those in charge of hiring at the nation’s largest abortion provider frequently consider pregnancy when making hiring decisions and pregnant women employed by Planned Parenthood are often denied the working conditions recommended by their physicians.
The discrimination is so obvious, many women are allegedly fearful to announce their pregnancies:
Many women said they were afraid to announce a pregnancy at work, sensing they would be seen as abandoning their colleagues.
For example, one Planned Parenthood staffer, Ta’Lisa Hairston, a medical assistant, informed the human resources department at her clinic that her doctor told her she needed to take frequent breaks during her pregnancy due to her high blood pressure.
Even with notes from her nurse, Hairston claimed her managers wouldn’t allow her to take breaks or even step away for lunch.
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“I had to hold back tears talking to pregnant women, telling them to take care of their pregnancies when I couldn’t take care of mine,” Hairston told the Times. “It made me jealous.”
Most Planned Parenthood locations, according to the report, do not provide any sort of paid maternity leave for full-time employees, though many clinics allow women to take partially paid disability leave.
In a statement to the Times, Leana Wen, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, admitted the abortion leader “must do better than we are now” because it’s their “obligation to do better, for our staff, for their families, and for our patients.”
She went on to say Planned Parenthood is investigating the discrimination claims outlined in the Times report.
Other companies reportedly guilty of pregnancy discrimination include Natera, which sells genetic tests for pregnant women, and Avon, the cosmetics business that brands itself as “the company for women.”