Planned Parenthood Plans Bar Crawls in W.Va. to Raise Awareness

A regional chapter of Planned Parenthood is hosting a pair of bar crawls in West Virginia to spread the word about upcoming changes to the organization.

On Monday, national Planned Parenthood leaders announced they were stepping away from Title X funds they’ve been receiving from the federal government for roughly 50 years. The decision came after the Trump administration made some changes to Title X rules that would’ve prohibited Planned Parenthood from referring patients to abortion clinics. 

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which covers West Virginia, plans to host events in Morgantown and Shepherdstown to talk about how people can support the organization, now that it no longer will be receiving Title X funding. According to a news release from the group on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood has served around 40 percent of all Title X patients, nationally.

The Morgantown bar crawl is Friday, August 23, at 7 p.m. The Shepherdstown bar crawl will be next Saturday night on August 31st, starting at 7 p.m.

West Virginia’s one Planned Parenthood clinic is in Vienna, Wood County. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports it serves about a thousand patients a year, most of whom typically benefit from Title X funding. The Vienna clinic doesn’t provide abortions.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Title X funds cover 40 percent of all Planned Parenthood Patients. The reverse is actually true — Planned Parenthood has covered 40 percent of Title X patients.