Pontiac — Following dozens of comments in support and against their move on Thursday, Oakland County’s Democratic commissioners appropriated up to $1.5 million for Ferndale’s Planned Parenthood clinic.
The appropriation through the county’s health division will fund services at the clinic following the permanent closure of Planned Parenthood’s Livonia and Warren health centers in late July. It will keep the clinic, which had more than 6,000 visits between July 2025 and June 2026, open through at least August 2028, according to Commission Chairman Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak.
The resolution approving the appropriation passed 11-6 after two and a half hours of comments from members of the public. The only Democratic commissioner who voted against the resolution was Kristen Nelson, who claimed the commission hadn’t seen the contract for the taxpayer funding. Republican commissioners Philip Weipert and Mike Gingell were both absent.
Some commenters objected to approving money for an organization that performs abortions and funds political campaigns, while others said the services it gives are worth the public money for the reproductive health services it provides.
“If you’re intending on voting ‘no,’ please reconsider. Please try to see it from the perspective of a dad — a dad of a kid who needs access to services that Planned Parenthood provides and a parent who can’t just jump in and pay for it,” said Chris McKenna, 55, a Birmingham father whose daughter has used the services while he’s between jobs.
Thursday’s resolution is the second time Oakland County has funded Planned Parenthood in the past 10 years. The board in 2019 approved $500,000 to keep Title X family planning and health services funded after federal rules kept the organization from receiving money.
Woodward said he proposed the current appropriation because of Title X rules as well as a lack of Medicaid reimbursement due to the passage of One Big Beautiful Bill in July 2025.
“We are here in an emergency because of a targeted effort to dismantle the social safety net that exist here. It’s just fundamentally wrong, and we have to ride out the storm,” Woodward said at the meeting.
Republicans and anti-abortion groups opposed the resolution leading up to the Thursday meeting. Right To Life Michigan President Amber Roseboom called the move “a flagrant abuse of the taxpayers’ trust and resources.”
“Peddling the idea that Planned Parenthood needs this infusion of cash under the guise of healthcare is an insult to every taxpayer in the county,” Roseboom said in a prepared statement Tuesday, criticizing how Planned Parenthood has given money to Democratic politicians and causes.
At an Aug. 5 committee meeting, Planned Parenthood of Michigan CEO Paula Thornton Greear said the money from the county would not touch the political arm of the organization. Republican Commissioner Christine Long of Commerce Township requested an audit of county dollars spent on services through Planned Parenthood.
Audience members also spoke passionately against abortion, which Thornton Greear said Planned Parenthood “unapologetically” provides at its clinics. The meeting proceeded as anti-abortion protesters stood outside on the county grounds holding enlarged pictures of terminated pregnancies.
The procedure was a sticking point among the Republican officials as well. Republican Commissioner Robert Smiley said it was “too much to ask” for anti-abortion taxpayers to pay for.
“It is the largest abortion provider in America. That is not opinion — that’s fact, and no amount of carefully-written contract language about cancer screenings or STI tests changes the truth. Our county health providers, they do cancer screenings. They do STI tests,” said Republican state Rep. Josh Schriver of Oxford, who called the resolution “stupid.”
Jenna Lindsay of Clarkston, who has defended women from protesters outside Planned Parenthood clinics, said it’s a misconception that the organization only provides abortions.
“Abortions make up less than 5% of the services they provide, so I wanted to make sure that that doesn’t get lost,” said Lindsay, 35.
But even with the low percentage, some commenters claimed Planned Parenthood encourages abortion.
“They don’t counsel toward adoption. They counsel toward abortion, and for everyone who says, ‘Well, how many kids have you adopted?’ – I can honestly answer, three,” said Roseanne Boley, 69, of Farmington Hills.
Boley’s assertion clashed with Tameka Ramsey-Brown, who told the commission Thursday that Planned Parenthood counseled her to make the best decision for herself. Ramsey-Brown, 48, of Pontiac also advocated for the resolution in committee more than a week earlier.
Democratic Commissioner Angela Powell of Pontiac said she had a similar experience.
“I was a recipient of Planned Parenthood when I was in high school, and they did everything I’m not hearing here in terms of consulting, providing services and also being an arm to depend on when I needed to talk to my parents,” said Powell.
The board passed the resolution to applause from the audience.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, a Democrat, supported the board’s move.
“I commend the board for standing up for our residents and for ensuring that Planned Parenthood will continue providing services in the county for the foreseeable future,” Coulter said in a statement.
mbryan@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Oakland Co. commission OKs funding for Planned Parenthood amid backlash
Reporting by Max Bryan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Bryan, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
