Sam Jackson, Jr., and Bill Diss protest proposed clinic on Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard.
Sentinel photo by Ed Langlois

Pro-life groups are pressing a Portland plumbing company to refuse work on a new building where abortions would be performed.

Peninsula Plumbing has signed on as a subcontractor to construct a large Planned Parenthood office and clinic on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The company’s owner, Mark Wright, did not return calls placed by the Sentinel. An Internet listing says the Southeast Portland plumbing shop employs 67 people and has annual sales of $6.8 million.

A group of teachers, neighbors and religious leaders called Precious Children of Portland is leading the effort to sway construction firms.

One general contractor pulled out of the job after months of pressure. Then B&G Construction of Portland stepped in. Roggenkamp Erickson & Associates, a Vancouver, Wash. engineering firm, decided against taking part in the job.

Adding to the Planned Parenthood controversy, the clinic is being built on land that was once city-owned, but was sold to developers who chose Planned Parenthood as tenants. As part of the process, the city’s urban development office helped align the deal between the developer and the abortion provider.

Opponents of Planned Parenthood say the organization is seeking to boost its abortion revenue by locating in a minority neighborhood. Black babies are 500 percent more likely to be aborted than white babies.

Leaders of local churches say that the family planning agency, which gets taxpayer funds, spreads a message of promiscuity that in the end will result in more abortions. This would be Planned Parenthood’s 17th center in Oregon.

Calling to ask businesses to abide by certain values is a “perfectly legitimate” way to protest, says Thompson Faller, a University of Portland professor who specializes in professional ethics. Demonstrating at the construction site is also ethical, Faller says. But he draws the line at picketing at the business offices, saying that is going too far. The Portland Business Alliance declined comment on the strategy.

Diss, a member of Holy Rosary Parish in Portland, often explains that he is a teacher and cares for his students, whom he believes could end up being hurt by Planned Parenthood’s messages and services.

Based on a complaint filed by Planned Parenthood, the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission has launched an investigation of the appropriateness of Diss’ pro-life activism. He teaches at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland.

Jim Leuenberger, an attorney who has been helping Diss, says he is concerned about the truthfulness of the charges. He also is worried that the commission may not give his client a “fair shake.”

“The starting point seems to be, Bill is guilty, now prove him innocent,” Leuenberger says.