Planned Parenthood of Northern New England is reviewing security measures for its 21 health centers, including four in Maine, after a vandal wielding a hatchet caused extensive damage at its center in Claremont, New Hampshire, this week.

Claremont police say a juvenile was arrested Wednesday after allegedly using a hatchet to destroy computers, cut holes in walls, and sever water and sewer lines at the organization’s health center.

Police caught the offender because they had stepped up patrols in the area after someone spray painted the word “murderer” on the wall of the health center.

The event has led the organization to take steps to ensure the security of its other centers, said Nicole Clegg, vice president for public policy.

“We’ve been in contact with law enforcement and we are assessing our security plans for health centers to ensure that we are taking appropriate action because the safety of our patients and our staff is our number one priority.” She would not describe the security measures the organization has in place at its Congress Street location or elsewhere.

Abortion foes long have opposed the reproductive health organization because in addition to low-cost birth control and other health services, it provides close to half of the abortions performed in the United States, primarily to low- and moderate-income women.

That opposition has reached a fever pitch after the release of secret recordings which critics say show Planned Parenthood leaders discussing the sale of tissue from aborted fetuses.

Planned Parenthood denied the allegation, saying the videos were selectively edited to give a false impression and that payments only covered the costs of providing the tissue to researchers. It has since announced that it will stop accepting payment to cover the costs of the program.

The controversy has led some congressional Republicans to push to cut federal funding for the organization.

Clegg said the resulting political climate increases the chances of criminal acts directed at the health care provider.

“Unfortunately, this latest crime is a predictable ripple effect from the false and incendiary attacks from anti-abortion groups and politicians whose rhetoric fuel violence,” she said.

Portland Assistant Police Chief Vern Malloch said the department will continue to work on security issues with Planned Parenthood. The department stations an officer outside the group’s Congress Street offices during anti-abortion protests there each Friday.

“We’re in close contact with Planned Parenthood on security issues on a regular basis and I’m sure that we’ll be reviewing the Claremont situation with them to see how it might impact their Portland operation,” he said.

Planned Parenthood is working to open the Claremont health center by next week and in the meantime, has been in touch with patients to ensure they face no interruption in care, Clegg said.

David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@pressherald.com

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