The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Planned Parenthood presses city
Group says residents being denied health care due to ban on development at site
Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties say that 2,000 Fontana residents are being denied health care each month after city leaders blocked the opening of a Sierra Avenue clinic.
Volunteers and representatives from the organization visited the stalled clinic site Tuesday, tying pink ribbons to fencing as part of a public campaign to persuade Fontana to lift a ban on development there.
Sadaf Rahmani, public affairs director for Planned Parenthood, called Fontana a “health care desert” lacking affordable medical care. She said she hoped the Fontana City Council would hear the voices of the community and understand why a clinic is needed.
“We want to offer a visual representation of what we mean when we say this is essential health care that the community needs,” Rahmani said Tuesday. “Each one of those ribbons represents the patient. And so I think having this visual representation
is so important and hopefully this helps drive the message home even further.”
A city spokesperson said Tuesday officials would not comment on the matter, which is under litigation.
Planned Parenthood filed a suit against Fontana in December after the council enacted a moratorium barring development at the site for the clinic, which would offer abortion services if opened.
The suit filed in San Bernardino Superior Court alleges the city violated its citizens' constitutional rights.
Californians approved Proposition 1 in 2022, amending the state Constitution to enshrine access to abortion and contraception throughout the state.
“Fontana residents, Fontana voters in 2022 overwhelmingly voted to support Proposition