Did an informal citizens group help to save Decorah's Family Planning Clinic?

The Board of Directors of Northeast Iowa Community Action voted Monday night to give the agency's Family Planning Clinic in Decorah the $56,000 it needed to meet expenses this year.

One of the factors that persuaded board members to vote in favor of the spending was an on-line petition drive urging the board to keep the clinic open.  The petition, posted on www.change.org, cited the fact that the family planning clinic served 1,700 people last year and has over 700 regular clients.

The petition said the closing of the clinic would leave many individuals without the care they need.  It also said communities which lose family planning clinics see exponential rises in both unplanned pregnancies and in the number of sexually transmitted diseases.

The on-line petition was posted three days before the NEICAC Board met--and got 566 signatures in that time.  NEICAC officials say they hope to channel that enthusiasm into future fundraising efforts for the clinic.