The Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest clinic in El Centro. Courtesy of the nonprofit
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest announced Monday it has received a “landmark donation” of $10 million from philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs to support reproductive health care throughout the region.
The gift will help the San Diego affiliate of the national family planning organization build and expand health centers throughout San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties.
“We can’t overstate the positive impact this gift will have on communities throughout our service region,” said Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson, president and CEO.
“Joan and Irwin Jacobs are visionaries and longtime champions of access to essential health care, and we are so grateful for their support,” Johnson said.
Last weekend the nonprofit dedicated the Planned Parenthood Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center, currently the largest in its network, serving 17,000 patients annually. The clinic in Kearny Mesa provides contraception, STI testing and treatment, cancer screening and treatment, gender-affirming hormone treatment, pregnancy tests, and abortion care.
Planned Parenthood said the Jacobs’ gift “comes at an especially crucial time, as access to abortion and sexual and reproductive health care continues to be increasingly restricted across the country.”
Reproductive care providers in California are bracing for an influx of women from other states following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal for nearly 50 years.
In the wake of that decision, Justice Clarence Thomas and some conservative Republicans have recommended that the court also overturn rulings protecting the use of contraceptives and gay marriage.