B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino counties held its

annual luncheon, “Visioning the Future,” on Monday at the Hyatt Regency

Hotel in Irvine. Local barrister Larry Kirschenbaum was the event chair,

welcoming several hundred guests, who paid $75 each to support the

organization.

The luncheon presented awards to organizations where human resources

have made a difference in the arena of woman’s reproductive rights. Four

groups were bestowed with Planned Parenthood’s Choice Awards. They were

Clergy for Choice of Orange County; the advertising and marketing firm of

Lawrence, Mayo and Ponder; Market Research Associates; and Skadden, Arps,

Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP, a law firm that has worked with Planned

Parenthood for some time.

The Rev. Stephen J. Mather, a Presbyterian minister in Orange County

for the past 26 years, addressed the group. Mather has been the force

behind a steering committee within Planned Parenthood known as “Call to

Renewal,” which seeks to advance social justice. He has been a leader in

the religious community as a voice for reproductive rights and is often

called upon to be a spokesman on issues relating to freedom of choice.

With the Bush administration taking a stance opposing

government-sponsored abortion on the 25th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade

decision, Mather and others dedicated to the principles of “a woman’s

right to choose” face challenges not experienced in recent times.

Planned Parenthood has always stood for reproductive rights, education

and the dissemination of all available information concerning pregnancy

(including abortion), family planning, population growth and sexually

transmitted diseases.

The divisiveness of the abortion issue has ripped apart families,

communities and the nation. There are no simple answers. However, in

light of the demonstrative change of tone coming from our nation’s new

leader, many in support of Planned Parenthood policy are concerned.

At the meeting, John Dunn, president and chief executive of the

nonprofit, commented, “Although legislation has repeatedly given women

the right to plan their parenthood, these same rights are constantly

being challenged.”

Many in the crowd expressed frustration and exasperation over the

political pingpong surrounding a woman’s right to choose.

Dunn joined Mather and other local Planned Parenthood advocates,

including Teddie Ray, Sandra Wright, Martin Weinberg, the Rev. Dennis

Short, Bonnie Ahrens, Donna Barash, Pamila Bryant, Jane Egly, Richard

Jonas, Darcy Lee, Chris Mears, Claudia Ponder, Maria Robledo, Robert

Sprague and Jene Witte for the luncheon event, which actually had the

main purpose of creating a future calendar looking ahead over the next 25

years in an attempt to foresee the future of reproductive health care.

“Our goal is not necessarily to predict the future but to understand

the forces that create change so that we may successfully navigate the

challenges,” Dunn said.

Attending the luncheon were Newport’s prominent Walter and Darlene

Gerken, Eve Kornyei, Pamela and Sam Goldstein, Barbara and Jim Foster,

Marla Bird, Ellie Berg, Leann Benvenuti, Dori Caillouette, Pat Cox, Kim

Feld, Nancy and Victor Dahun and Marianne Wentworth. Also on hand to

support Planned Parenthood were Lido Isle’s dynamic Jennifer Van Bergh,

David and Margarita Steinmetz, Betty Steele, Sandy Price, Joanne Reynolds

and Calvin Wallace.

For more information on Planned Parenthood, call Kim Custer at (714)

633-6373.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.