Kan., Mo. abortion rights figure retiring in spring

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Peter Brownlie plans to retire this spring as president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri after more than a decade as one of Kansas' most visible abortion-rights advocates and a key figure in lengthy court battles.

Brownlie announced his plans Thursday, without setting a specific date for his departure. He's been the top administrator of the Planned Parenthood chapter since August 1999, and during his tenure, his organization has challenged anti-abortion laws enacted by Kansas legislators and been the subject of a lengthy but now-dismissed criminal case.

He's been the face of Planned Parenthood in court during what he acknowledged was a difficult 10 years. The criminal case began in 2003 with an investigation by the attorney general's office and eventually led to 107 charges accusing Planned Parenthood of performing illegal abortions at its clinic in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park and falsifying documents. There was no trial, but the last of the charges weren't dropped until last year.

Kansas legislators who've enacted sweeping new restrictions in recent years are still pondering additional charges, and Planned Parenthood still has federal lawsuits pending over anti-abortion laws enacted in 2011 and 2013.

But Brownlie, who turns 68 next month, said he believes the organization's most difficult legal and legislative battles are behind it, and that his Planned Parenthood chapter, operating nine health centers in Kansas and Missouri, will be able to serve more patients, including women with new coverage under the federal health care overhaul.

"It's the right time for someone else to come in and take us forward," Brownlie said in an interview ahead of his announcement. "We've been able to prevail, despite the state of Kansas throwing pretty much everything at us that they could."

Abortion opponents have long been frustrated by Planned Parenthood's willingness to go to court to oppose what they view as reasonable restrictions designed to protect both unborn children and women seeking abortions. Many of them also contend the organization has escaped being held accountable for questionable practices in Kansas.

The criminal case alleged that in 2003, Planned Parenthood's clinic violated state restrictions on late-term abortions, making procedures it performed illegal. The clinic also was accused of failing to keep adequate records, then falsifying copies of documents when ordered by a court to produce them. Brownlie said repeatedly that there was no evidence to justify the charges.

Cheryl Sullenger, policy director for the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, said there was nothing personal about its opposition to Planned Parenthood and desire to see the organization prosecuted. She wished him luck in retirement.

"I'm glad he's out of the baby-killing business," Sullenger said. "We hope that he eventually does understand the evil that he caused."

The Planned Parenthood chapter has an annual budget of $7.5 million and 91 employees. It said it provided services last year to more than 25,000 patients. Its clinic in Overland Park is the only one now providing abortions.

Cecile Richards, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, praised Brownlie for being "on the front lines of the fight for women's health in one of the toughest states for women."

Brownlie contends the activity in recent years in Kansas and other GOP-led states is a `backlash" against a solid consensus among Americans that abortion shouldn't be banned.

Brownlie has been an administrator with Planned Parenthood affiliates in Michigan, Indiana, Texas and Kansas for most of the past 40 years. A native of New York City, he holds a bachelor's degree in adolescent development from the University of Minnesota.

He dates his activism to his years in college in the 1960s. He said he participated in drives to help blacks register to vote in Alabama and Mississippi and participated in the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., led by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Brownlie said he took the job with Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri partly because his wife grew up in the Kansas City area. When Brownlie took over, Bill Graves, a moderate Republican, was governor, and if the state wasn't friendly, it wasn't "antagonistic."

Brownlie joked that after the criminal investigation of Planned Parenthood's clinic began, he and his wife "said to each other once in a while, `What were we thinking?"'

But he added, "Doing this work in challenging environments is something that I gravitate to."

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