Sunnyside Planned Parenthood clinic to relocate

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. -- The Planned Parenthood clinic in Sunnyside will open a new location next month.

Its opponent in the Lower Valley abortion rights debate, Life Options, will most likely move into its old space.

Leaders of both organi-zations say the jockeying is ironic but coincidental.

"Where they want to locate is entirely up to them," said Gina Popovic, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Central Washington.

The Grandview-based Life Options has been eyeing an expansion to Sunnyside, the Lower Valley's largest city, for more than a year but has had trouble finding a spot, Executive Director Jan McDonald said.

"That seems to be the only one that comes available," McDonald said.

Planned Parenthood is a global medical nonprofit that offers birth control, infection treatments and cancer screening. Its doctors also perform abortions and vasectomies in Yakima and Kennewick, though not in the Sunnyside location. Planned Parenthood leaders and backers generally support abortions rights, though they insist they strive to keep abortions rare.

Life Options is a local nonprofit supported by area churches that offers limited medical services, including ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, as well as mentoring, parenting classes and youth outreach programs. Leaders generally oppose abortion and do not refer clients to doctors who offer them. It's affiliated with Care Net, a nationwide network of pregnancy centers that oppose abortion.

In Washington, abortions are legal before a fetus is viable -- defined as being able to live outside the mother's womb.

Planned Parenthood leaders aim to move their Sunnyside clinic to their own, newly constructed building at 293 Covey Lane near Interstate 82 and State Route 241 around June 1. They will hold a grand opening ceremony on June 4.

At 4,000 square feet, it's more than twice the size of the current location at 1616 E. Gregory Extension. The new building also has a large meeting room that will allow them to offer more classes, Popovic said.

The organization does not plan to offer abortions or vasectomies at the new location because the demand in the Lower Valley is not high enough, Popovic said.

Planned Parenthood has been at its current location since 1969. It's near Sunnyside High School, though Popovic said that has not necessarily been an advantage. About 80 percent of its clients are 18 or older.

Leaders of Life Options, on the other hand, like the proximity to the 1,650 students at Sunnyside High School, said McDonald, also a Grandview city councilwoman.

The group offers an outreach ministry for teen girls.

In January 2008, they decided to pursue a second location in Sunnyside for consultations, ultrasounds and ministries to reach more people. Grandview has a population of about 9,000, while Sunnyside's is about 15,000.

Life Options considered opening an office inside a new family practice in Sunnyside but worried it would compromise patient privacy, McDonald said.

They have not signed a lease with the owner of the current Planned Parenthood building but plan to open it under their banner sometime during the fall or winter.

The move, as well as the creation of a men's ministry, is partially funded by a two-year, $100,000 grant from Care Net and the National Fatherhood Initiative, a Maryland nonprofit that supports fatherhood classes.

Right around the corner from the Gregory Extension location is Birthright, a nonprofit pregnancy center that offers information about adoption, childbirth and parenting, but avoids the public abortion debate, according to its Web site.

* Ross Courtney can be reached at 509-930-8798 or rcourtney@yakimaherald.com.

Grand opening is June 4

Planned Parenthood of Central Washington will hold a grand opening of its new clinic here June 4.

Staff will offer tours of the clinic and answer questions. Hors d'oeuvres, wine and beverages will be available.

Hours will be 5-7 p.m.

The new office will be located at 293 Covey Lane, near State Route 241 and Interstate 82. It's scheduled to open for patients around June 1.

The current location is 1616 E. Gregory Extension.