Embattled Planned Parenthood Southeast president resigns

“I’m writing to share that Mairo Akpose has stepped down as interim CEO of PPSE and the Board of Directors has accepted her resignation,” board chair Karen Doolittle wrote Tuesday in an email obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The current executive leadership team stays in position managing the day-to-day operations while the Board, as announced previously, reviews its strategic plan and conducts a leadership search.”

Planned Parenthood Southeast did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The “SAVE PPSE” Instagram account backed by former and current employees had called for the resignations of Akpose, staff she had hired by and the board of directors that approved her hiring to step down.

When the claims were made public in October, Akpose released a statement saying her Christian faith “grounds my belief in bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom — in every person’s right to access quality, compassionate care, including abortion care, and to receive accurate information that empowers them to make the best choices for their lives.”

Akpose was hired as a human resources consultant in 2023 and appointed interim president and CEO by the board the following year.

Planned Parenthood Southeast provides reproductive health care to patients in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. Its advocacy arm lobbies government for access to reproductive care. It is a regional affiliate of Planned Parenthood.