Bedrosian Continues Pressure on United Way

A shirtless Leigh Ann Woods confronts Al Bedrosian
A shirtless Leigh Ann Woods confronts Al Bedrosian

Correction: Our original story as reported by Gene Marrano incorrectly stated that Leigh Anne Woods commented that Planned Parenthood would help pay for breast implants.  This statement was not made by her and was incorrect. 

No stranger to ruffling feathers, Roanoke County Supervisor Al Bedrosian has stepped up his campaign against United Way and Planned Parenthood. Roanoke County Administrator Tom Gates has said that the county does not contribute directly to United Way – some of those funds are earmarked only for Planned Parenthood education programs according to its executive director – but Bedrosian wants the annual county employee United Way voluntary campaign stopped as well.

United Way of Roanoke Valley officials have told Bedrosian, who represents the Hollins district, that any money they send to Planned Parenthood does not go to support abortion services offered by the agency, which, according to Planned Parenthood, is a small part of what they do in providing a range of health services for women.

Bedrosian’s recent interest in Planned Parenthood funding began with the secretly recorded videos showing agency executives discussing the sale of aborted fetal tissue for research at a profit – a practice Planned Parenthood executives at the national level claim they do not participate in. (It would be against the law for starters, although they are permitted to be  reimbursed to cover costs.)  Some defend the practice of selling fetal tissue as one that has helped lead to worthwhile medical research in the past.

At a recent news conference held outside the Roanoke County Administration building, Bedrosian pointed to a protest that he said drew more than 300 people to the valley’s Planned Parenthood site, demanding that “this evil facility” be shut down. “I’ve [also] made it a promise that for my remaining time on the Board I will continue in my ten minutes of comment time to remind the citizens of Roanoke County and of the Roanoke Valley about this most important issue.”

Indeed Bedrosian did bring it up at the next Board of Supervisors meeting but he received some push back from chairman Jason Peters (Vinton District), who said supervisors should not be bogged down by getting into the types of social issues that Bedrosian likes to weigh in on. Peters said keeping their eye on the ball and focusing on economic development is crucial.  A citizen speaker also accused Bedrosian of being a bully during his three minutes at the podium.

There was also push back at Bedrosian’s news conference from a Planned Parenthood supporter – who also took off her top to show the supervisor scars from her recent radical mastectomy. Leigh Anne Woods of Roanoke told Bedrosian that Planned Parenthood provided her with cancer screening services that may have saved her life.

She also praised the preventive services offered: “for every bit of money that we give to Planned Parenthood to prevent an unplanned pregnancy that saves thousands of dollars down the road,” said Woods, “let’s put money in to intervention and prevention.”

Bedrosian countered that, “It’s not my responsibility.” He doesn’t want Roanoke County supporting any non-profits with taxpayer money – since that is not a “core service.”

Saying that Roanoke City contributes funds directly to Planned Parenthood, Bedrosian publicly called on City Councilman Sherman Lea Sr. – a church elder – to help stop that practice. He also called on Roanoke County to stop spending up to about six thousand dollars a year of taxpayer money for the United Way campaign kickoff event – saying also that it favors one non-profit over others that may want that same access to Roanoke County employees.

Bedrosian questioned United Way’s overhead and the six-figure salaries some officers may make at the local level – suggesting that people should bypass the non-profit giant and give directly to worthwhile causes on their own.  This fight isn’t over, said the first term supervisor.

Gene Marrano

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