Google Street View image of a Planned Parenthood location in Phoenix.
Planned Parenthood Arizona announced it has a new leader joining the team.
Lola Bovell is now the vice president of external affairs. She’ll be spending the next year educating the public on the state of reproductive rights in Arizona, where future access to sexual and reproductive care doesn't look good, she said.
That effort will include state lawmakers and other influential leaders in the state, she said.
“We have a lot of big elections coming up, and we want to really make sure that people are aware that sexual and reproductive health is on the line right now in our state,” Bovell said.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration changed the Title X family planning program to defunded health clinics performing or referring patients to get abortions.
Bovell said that lack of funding may mean some of the less than ten Planned Parenthood clinics in Arizona will close. If that happens, she said more patients will have to travel longer distances to receive sexual and reproductive care, including abortions.
“It appears that some people may take abortion care or access to sexual health reproductive rights for granted, and we’re not in that place anymore. At this point, everything is at stake,” she said.
Bovell said she’s also the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.