Trust Women, the Wichita clinic that has fielded an influx of abortion patients in the years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, has a new leader: Kathryn Boyd, who most recently led Planned Parenthood of Utah for two years.
Boyd’s hiring as president and CEO comes at a pivotal time for the health care provider. It’s one year since Trust Women temporarily closed amid leadership turmoil. The clinic’s board ousted its previous executive directors and a majority of its doctors quit in protest. It reopened its doors to patients in August.
Three new members are joining Trust Women’s board, according to a news release.
Prior to her work in Utah, Boyd worked with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, Planned Parenthood of Central and Greater Northern New Jersey, and carafem.
In an interview with KMUW’s Rose Conlon, Boyd said Trust Women will continue to expand the clinic's capacity to provide abortions, as well as other sexual wellness care like birth control and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
“Not to say that Kansas is an abortion destination, but it really is," she said. "I think that there is just a ton of opportunity for us to show up and continue to be consistent in providing care."
She spoke to Conlon about how she plans to guide the organization forward and how her experience in Republican-controlled states will inform her work in Kansas.
The following is an edited and condensed transcript of the conversation.
Conlon: You most recently led Planned Parenthood of Utah for two years. What brought you to Kansas?
Boyd: I’m originally from the Midwest, and my mom is still here. She lives in southwest Iowa. As our parents age, there are additional responsibilities, so I felt like I needed to look for a role that would get me closer to home.
And Trust Women specifically, just thinking back to Dr. (George) Tiller — I worked in reproductive health when he was actively practicing, and that was in Iowa. We routinely would refer patients to him. Just having met him and known him and the great work that he does, it felt like, what a moment to be able to step into this role as the leader of the organization and really continue to propel his legacy forward.
Kansas and Utah are dealing with many of the same issues when it comes to reproductive rights. Abortion is legal in both places, but both states have state legislatures that are fairly hostile to abortion rights. What have you learned through your work in Utah that you’re going to bring into this role at Trust Women?
I have worked in hostile states, we'll call them, for more than a decade. Before I went out to Utah, I was actually in Georgia working with carafem. So, unfortunately, I've had lots of opportunities to learn how to pivot when lawmakers decide to pass bad bills, including working in Georgia when they had a six-week ban. Here in Kansas, I think the one bright light is that constitutionally, the right to abortion is protected in the state of Kansas. But at the same time, we still have to be poised and ready.
What are your biggest priorities for Trust Women?
For priorities, it's expansion of care. And making sure that we are able to provide the best access possible, whether that is adding additional capacity — which is one of the things we've already been working on in the last few weeks that I've been here, adding some physician time and being able to see more folks when they need to be seen — as well as adding new services. I think that there is definitely a need for essential sexual and reproductive health care, including birth control visits and STI testing and PrEP for HIV prevention. The list goes on. I think that this location in this town is in the perfect spot to really expand that access.
What I would like to do, along with the leadership team, is to expand (birth control access) to not just abortion patients, but to open that up for, you know, people on a Tuesday who want to come in and get a prescription for birth control.
Are you able to share any information about the clinic's current capacity?
We've needed to add capacity to be able to serve patients, but we've also needed to add that capacity at times that work well for patients. So just providing care Monday through Friday, 9-5 isn’t ideal, especially if people are traveling or need to take time off work or have daycare issues. It would be nice to expand into some off hours, while also adding that capacity to be able to serve patients when they want to be seen. I really commit this work from a patient-centered focus and trying to put myself into the shoes of people who need to access care. I know that we've had busy schedules, but we're here. We're definitely available to see patients and provide care when they need it.
In the past, demand (for abortions) at Kansas clinics has far exceeded available appointments. Is that still the case?
Yeah, in some areas. About 86% of the patients that we have seen in the last quarter are coming from out of state. They're coming from places like Texas and Oklahoma and Arkansas and Louisiana and all of these other banned states. So that's one of the real necessities and the driver for trying to add capacity and add hours. It's interesting because I don't think a lot of people view Kansas as this haven state like they would Illinois or New York or California — but really, we are. We're this little island in a sea of bans. And, as time goes on, more and more people are going to have to travel to get this essential health care.
Trust Women is an independent clinic, and that means you're unaffiliated with a big organization like Planned Parenthood. Historically, independent clinics have often offered care later in pregnancy than other clinics; sometimes they’ve been more politically active. What does it mean to you to lead an independent clinic, and do you see its mission any differently than you saw your work at Planned Parenthood?
This isn't my first rodeo with an independent clinic. I think I was employee number two at carafem back in 2014. I don't view the game plan or how we're going to provide care or any of those other procedural or policy pieces differently than I would if I were still with Planned Parenthood. In fact, you bring a wealth of knowledge with you from that world into the independent world, it just looks a little bit different. We don't have a big overreaching organization like Planned Parenthood Federation of America, so we tend to work together a little bit more closely than (Planned Parenthood) affiliates might do. Here in Kansas again, we do have allies within the Planned Parenthood world. I'm familiar with the CEO of the Planned Parenthood Great Plains. She's a wonderful colleague of mine, and we've already talked and we're hoping to be able to work together more freely. Trying to break down those barriers between the two very similar yet very different sets of organizations has always been a priority for me.
Independent clinics have also experienced pretty significant financial challenges since Roe was overturned. What is Trust Women's financial situation like right now?
We're in really unprecedented times. And not just as an independent clinic, but across the board with nonprofits, with health services; there's so many different competing factors. What I can tell you is that Trust Women is not going anywhere. Do we need support? Of course we do, just like all of the other clinics. We also rely on donors and grants and different foundational support to help our patients — especially when 86% of them are traveling, there's practical support that's needed. So we're really making a push to try to add some additional donor support to that bucket, as well as just general operating funds.
I do want to talk briefly about the turmoil that Trust Women experienced last year. I know that you were not with the organization then. But can you share your perspective on how those events have impacted the organization and how you're planning to lead the clinic out of a pretty challenging time?
That's a really great question. And what I will say is the current iteration of the board as it is now, along with the leadership team as it is now, were very open and honest about this time that they went through and how challenging it was, and yet it didn't deter me. I think the fact that Trust Women is still here, still seeing patients — of those doctors that walked out, there were 15 total, and 13 came back. I think that's a testament to the dedication of the administrative team that is still currently here. And now that I'm added to that, I lead from a place of collaboration and participation. So I may have the title of president and CEO, but if the toilet is clogged down the hall, I'll grab the plunger and go unplug the toilet. And so moving forward, creating a culture where there is transparency, there is trust — and it does take time to build both of those things — that's where I want to get to.
What are the biggest challenges facing the reproductive rights movement right now?
The current administration in D.C. — we have seen so much happen in those first 100 days that is really unprecedented, and the attacks will just continue. However, the American people are finding their voices. And the majority of people agree that abortion should be available. That is not to say that they won't continue to try to attack, just like the recent rollback of Title X to various Planned Parenthood affiliates and other (clinics) because they may have had on their website a message about diversity, equity and inclusion. Sometimes I wonder, am I in a dream? Because the things that you think, ‘They would never do this,’ is actually happening, and it's unfolding right before our eyes. So when you parlay that into reproductive freedom and our rights, even basic human rights, it's all very intersectional, and it's not going to stop. The next three and a half years are going to continue to be very bumpy. And we just have to be ready.
What do you see as Trust Women's role in the broader fight for abortion rights?
My gosh, yeah, we have to stay here. We have to be visible. I think that we're in a position where we can shout it from the rooftops, like, ‘Hey, we are still here.’ And you know, we're right in the middle of the country. And, not to say that Kansas is an abortion destination, but it really is. I think that there is just a ton of opportunity for us to show up and continue to be consistent in providing care.
