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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 2018)
Cold Case Turns Seven Years Good in the Hood Family ties to break silence on murder Celebrating our multicultural neighborhoods See Local News, page 3 ‘City of Roses’ Volume XLVII • Number 25 See Photo Essay, pages 8 and 9 www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • June 27, 2018 Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity photo by D anny p eterson /t he p ortlanD o bserver Representatives from five local organizations opposed to new federal sexual education restrictions show their solidarity against the move outside the offices of Planned Parenthood on Northeast Martin Luther King Boulevard. The group includes officials from Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, the Latino Network, Self Enhancement Inc., the Native Youth and Family Center, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland. Advocates fight new rule and brace for cuts b everly C orbell t he p ortlanD o bserver Young people in communities of color in the Portland metro area will suffer more unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases if the Trump Administration is successful in a new policy requiring abstinence as the only option for discussion in birth control and STD prevention programs receiving federal Title X grants. Several organizations in Multnomah County that work with minority communities on family planning and preventative sexual health services, including Planned Parenthood, the Latino Net- work, and Self Enhancement, Inc., are bracing for the impacts, while challenging the decision. Scientific studies and past results show that by Sex Ed on the Line unplanned pregnancies among teens will go up as well as STDs if the new federal rules for the grants are upheld, preventing service providers from discussing the full range of sexual heath options available, including birth control and le- gal access to abortion. Lisa Saunders, manager of strategic develop- ments at Self Enhancement, Inc., serving Port- land’s black community, said her organization has received $90,000 per year from county Title X grants for the past three years, and a portion was used to hire Marlo Williams to conduct sum- mer age-appropriate sex education programs for both children and their parents. If SEI’s fund- ing is cut, Williams will lose her job and sci- ence-based sex education from the organization will cease. “During the summer Marlo taught 140 kids in six weeks, giving them a wide range of informa- tion, and also had classes for parents,” Saunders said. “She has given them the platform and the tools they need to navigate that conversation and C ontinueD on p age 16