Planned Parenthood will not participate in HonFest after denied vendor application, issued apology
BALTIMORE - Planned Parenthood says it will still impact the community next weekend despite being denied a vendor spot at HONFest, and then issued an apology.
HonFest, which brings thousands to Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood, initially rejected Planned Parenthood's application to be a vendor at the two-day event which will be held on Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11.
HonFest celebrates the "historic working women of Baltimore."
"It is clear that the community wants PPM at be present on June 10-11, so we will be," Planned Parenthood said in a statement. "We will not be at HonFest. We are partnering with Flaunt Hair Boutique after they generously invited us into their space located at 827 W. 36 Street in Hampden. We will also have materials on our services available for the many venders and businesses who have generously offered to distribute them."
HonFest said in a social media post that it rejected Planned Parenthood because of its rules prohibiting "political, religious and hot topic issues."
Planned Parenthood has been at the forefront of "hot topics" since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.
"When PPM applied we respectfully stated that we would be abiding by those rules this year," HonFest said. "The Public Engagement Manager for Planned Parenthood of Maryland stated, 'I understand that extremists have attempted to politicize the services PPM provides, but that does not make the services political" or hot topic."
HONFest then said they invited Planned Parenthood to join the Baltimore City Health Department as a non-artisan vendor in their space to promote women's health issues.
"HONFest understands the services are not, but in the interest of safety for all festival goers we chose to not have them attend as their own booth," HonFest said.
The decision created anger and talks of boycotts on social media platforms.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott commenting on the issues on social media.
"PPM has stood up for families in Maryland for decades. Now it's time for us to stand up for them. HonFest is a Baltimore tradition, and I hope they work to resolve this issue to include PPM," Scott tweeted.
The outrage pushed HonFest to apologize and then invite Planned Parenthood to "consider joining" this year's 30th HonFest.
"This year, our sincere intent was to remain politically neutral and avoid any type of conflict, and in doing so, we inadvertently created the controversy we were desperately hoping to avoid. We are deeply sorry and apologize for our decision to exclude your organization," HonFest said. "We understand that Planned Parenthood offers a full spectrum of invaluable information and resources to our community and we hope you will for our severe shortsightedness."
Planned Parenthood responded on Sunday.
"After some reflection, Planned Parenthood of Maryland will not participate as a vendor at HonFest 2023," Planned Parenthood said in a statement. "The initial refusal to accept PPM because it was a 'hot topic,' then the suggestion that we ask another organization to partner with us - provided our outreach team abides by a gag rule - sets a dangerous precedent. Prohibiting us from mentioning birth control, abortion, gender-affirming care and providing any information about family planning stigmatizes our care, and more importantly, the patients for who we care."
