We Won’t Quit, Says Planned Parenthood

President Reagan’s new anti-abortion edict will “absolutely not” close down Planned Parenthood, its president, Faye Wattleton, said today.

Wattleton, appearing on NBC’s “Today” program, said: “When a woman comes into a family planning clinic and is concerned about an unintended pregnancy, any respectable and ethical health care provider is going to help her to look at all the options, and we’re not going to be bound by the coercive powers of this Administration.”

Wattleton said the new regulations “are politically motivated and are only designed to give satisfaction to the anti-abortion extremists in this country.” And Reagan’s rule, she said, is “absolutely not” going to put Planned Parenthood out of business.

“I think the great perplexity about all of this is that Planned Parenthood and family planning clinics all over the country are engaged in programs to educate and give people the means to avoid unintended pregnancies,” said Wattleton, “and an attack on the very program that prevents this condition is an outrageous attack, indeed.”

A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said attorneys “are looking at the legalities behind” Reagan’s actions and there “is a possibility of a lawsuit.”