Duquesne University radio station pulls Planned Parenthood grant

Published: 2007-10-18

PITTSBURGH (CNS) -- A public radio station run by Duquesne University in Pittsburgh has stopped running Planned Parenthood sponsorship messages and returned the group's $5,000 donation because it is "not aligned" with the school's Catholic identity. The station, WDUQ, began airing the Planned Parenthood messages Oct. 8. Two days later the station's general manager, Scott Hanley, said he received a call from the university's president, Charles Dougherty, expressing concern that it was inappropriate to accept a donation and air messages from Planned Parenthood. The station pulled the messages that day and quickly began getting complaints. Hanley told The Duquesne Duke student newspaper that the decision to pull the messages and return the donation had originally seemed uncontroversial, but has since become "complicated and nuanced." "Planned Parenthood turned this into a political activist issue," Hanley said, referring to the barrage of e-mails and phone calls he has received.

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