Sue Thayer who worked for Planned Parenthood in Iowa was fired by her former employer over a dispute about abortion.
Sue was hired at the clinic in 1991 as a Family Planning Assistant. The clinic did not perform abortions. She quickly had the opportunity to advance her position with Planned Parenthood, and was interviewed regarding her views on abortion. During the interview she responded that “abortion was murder”, and although the supervisor was surprised at her answer, Sue was still given the position of manager but was required to go through “training”. Sue explained that “every employee, who was in management in the health services part of Planned Parenthood, was required to observe a full day of abortions.”
She remembers well what she saw during her day of training: “The baby is extracted and put into a small little clear dish, and they look at that under a light to try to determine if they have all the body parts, because-of course-during the abortion, the baby is ripped apart and so there are tiny little arms and little legs.” Although she didn’t believe that abortion was a right, she did have the desire to prevent the need for abortions through contraceptives.
Planned Parenthood began to do Telemed abortions in 2008. This meant Sue’s clinic was now involved with dispensing abortion drugs. Her clinic would perform a vaginal ultrasound, send the ultrasound through electronic means to a remote doctor at a central location. The doctor would examine the ultrasound to determine the gestational age of the baby (63 days or less). Following the doctor’s determination of the baby’s age, he would “push a button which would remotely open a drawer beside the mother” thereby dispensing abortion drugs. Sue was stunned by the whole Telemed procedure, and the fact that it was being presented as abortions with “very little overhead”: abortion for profit. It was clear to her that they were not just about reducing abortions through contraceptives. After voicing her concerns, Sue was told her position was terminated due to downsizing.
In fact, Sue  saw a job posting for her position a few weeks later. She realized that she had been fired for challenging Planned Parenthood’s abortion for profit operation.
Sue worked at Planned Parenthood for 17 years. Since leaving the clinic, she has prayed outside the clinic, formed a pro-life group and this group now plans to open a pregnancy centre to continue to try to end abortion.