Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Nashville JCC Shuns Planned Parenthood Event Amid Pressure

The Gordon Jewish Community Center in Nashville, Tennessee, canceled a rental agreement allowing the local Planned Parenthood chapter to hold a fundraiser on its property.

The JCC decision to revoke the agreement with the family-planning group and abortion provider, which has come under attack from Republicans, came in response to “apparent pressures from some of the center’s members,” The Tennesseean newspaper reported Friday.

Planned Parenthood of Middle & East Tennessee had been scheduled to hold a fundraising cocktail party at the JCC on Oct. 1, an event featuring Nashville Mayor-elect Megan Barry and her husband.

Planned Parenthood has moved the event to a different venue, the identity of which it is not publicizing.

Leslie Sax, executive director of the Jewish Community Center, declined to comment to the newspaper.

Planned Parenthood officials told The Tennessean that JCC officials said several Catholic members had started to pressure the center to cancel the rental contract.

“We’re disappointed that they pulled out on such short notice,” Jeff Teague, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood chapter said. “A huge number of our major donors are members of the JCC. They’re very upset, obviously, that the community center did that with such short notice. We’re disappointed that they didn’t take a stronger stance. Basically, they’ve caved to a bunch of bullies.”

Planned Parenthood has been under attack from Republicans and anti-abortion activists for allegedly profiting from the sale of fetal tissue for medical research, a claim the nonprofit denies.

After learning of the cancellation,a Facebook group called Protest Planned Parenthood Nashville wrote on its page: “Due to much prayer and a coordinated effort by GJCC members, the Jewish Pro-life Foundation and Protest PP Nashville; the Gordon Jewish Community Center has canceled the October 1 Planned Parenthood fundraiser at their facility!!! This is incredible news!”

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.