Conclusion

Summary

When I began this book I was haunted by suspicions and fearful of my conclusions; now that I have reached the conclusion, I know why. The stakes are indeed great. The three themes I laid out in the introduction—the malleable relationship between business and charity, the malleable definition of birth control, and the guerilla-style flexibility of the form and function of the local birth control clinic—remain as salient in recent decades as they did in the past, and the anxiety I felt about their implications gnaws even more deeply. Much as before, charity and business continue to intersect, and the language and practice of each continue to be deployed as tools of power. Much as before, the birth control clinic remains in a state of flux, its form and function the subject of much debate. Much as before, the very definition of birth control continues to defy fixed boundaries; its many potential meanings remain persistently at the heart of battles over reproductive rights. With Planned Parenthood's newly incorporated abortion services serving as a guide, what follows is a brief tracing of the ways these three themes have since the early 1970s played themselves out—though not without an appreciation of the similarities they have with the lessons of the past.

After years of telling local offices to move beyond the establishment of clinics, by the 1960s and 1970s the national Planned Parenthood office had come back around to the local clinic view.