Health & Fitness
Planned Parenthood North Central States Names New CEO
The multi-state agency includes health centers in Omaha and Lincoln.
By Paul Hammel
September 7, 2022
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LINCOLN — Planned Parenthood North Central States has named a new CEO to run the multi-state agency, which includes Nebraska.
On Wednesday, Ruth Richardson, a lawyer and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, was announced as the replacement for longtime CEO Sarah Stoesz, who is resigning this fall.
Find out what's happening in Omahafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“Our mission is more important than ever before. The new Post-Roe world means that we can’t operate in the same way as we have for the last 50 years,” Richardson said in a press release.
“We have to be focused on serving patients across our region and serving people from states that have banned abortion, by thinking about access regionally,” she added.
Richardson, who has worked on reproductive rights legislation while in the Minnesota House, will not oversee political work or lobbying while she continues to serve as a legislator, the organization said.
Planned Parenthood North Central States provides sexual and reproductive health care in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa. It serves 100,000 patients a year in 28 health centers, including ones in Omaha, Lincoln and Council Bluffs, Iowa, as well as via telehealth.
Abortion has been banned in South Dakota, where a so-called “trigger law” was passed to impose a ban if the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out the right to abortion granted by the Roe v. Wade decision. A similar trigger ban in North Dakota has been held up by a lawsuit.
In Iowa, abortion remains legal, but Gov. Kim Reynolds has asked a state court to revive a six-week abortion ban in that state.
In Nebraska, abortion is legal up to the 20th week of pregnancy. Gov. Pete Ricketts backed off on calling a special session this summer after failing to find enough state lawmakers willing to pass a ban after 12 weeks.
In Minnesota, the state’s highest court has recognized a right to abortion exists in the state constitution.
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