
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 9, 1990                   TAG: 9004090263
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MISLEADING PUBLIC ON AGENCY'S SERVICES

OK. I'VE read enough. I've heard enough. I've seen enough. I am quite tired of the slander and outright lies propagated by individuals who choose to project their societal angers and aggressions onto Planned Parenthood of Southwest Virginia. The letter March 8 from Rosalyn C. Harrel is such a gross distortion of the facts that it demands both immediate and public correction.

I am a single mother of four, a professional, and a woman whose financial limitations would not allow for the high cost of even routine private-practice gynecological care. Realizing the importance of regular checkups and annual pap smears, I went to Planned Parenthood. What I discovered was an informed, caring team of professionals who provided me with sound medical advice and treatment that, had they not been available, I would have forfeited.

Through their intervention, a precancerous cervical growth in need of immediate removal was detected. Left untreated, this benign growth could have become tumorous and malignant. Early detection was available to me only because of Planned Parenthood.

Ms. Harrel's assertion that Planned Parenthood of Southwest Virginia offers no services that are not "sexually" related is not only absurd but, seemingly, a deliberate attempt to mislead and manipulate the public to meet her own needs. This organization provides a number of services that are routinely provided by gynecologists in private practice. They are not funded by the city or the state but by patrons and private donors. More importantly, however, they provide quality services to women who could not otherwise afford them.

If Ms. Harrel and others who insist on discrediting Planned Parenthood believe they are helping women or the community, they are mistaken. And if they choose to rally against agencies that provide "sexually related" services, then they should consider expanding their horizons to include virtually every gynecologist and hospital in the country. By focusing on an organization that seeks to help the less-advantaged, they discriminate against those who are often unable to speak out against their tactics and, even worse, who may believe their lies.\ FAYE O'DELL\ ROANOKE

by CNB