From the infamous Supreme Court struggle of Roe v. Wade to the unceasing assaults from the Bush administration, few issues have sparked as much volatile opinion and partisan ferocity than that of a woman’s right to choose. Fewer still can say they are as familiar with this as Sarah Scranton, Executive Director of the Michigan Planned Parenthood chapter.

An outspoken voice and tireless advocate on behalf of reproductive rights, Scranton has been involved with the influential organization for six years, beginning as a youthful, idealistic college volunteer and eventually rising in the ranks to take the helm of the ship, where she has helped steer Michigan’s voice for choice through hostile legislation and an even more hostile legislature. Growing up in a family that encouraged community involvement, if harboring a bit on the apolitical, Scranton began developing an early interest in volunteer activism, eventually earning a degree in political science and public policy. Though she was certain that she would be seeking out a career path devoted to public policy, opting to focus on the issue of choice, as expected, didn’t arrive trouble-free.

“On the choice issue, that’s obviously one that can be very volatile to families and personal relationships: my immediate family is all pro-choice, but it was never one of those big issues,” Scranton says. “They were never strongly for either side, just kinda like, ‘Well, yeah, I’m pro-choice.’ The interesting piece is that my dad comes from a large Catholic family, and so they’re all very much anti-choice, so that’s been sort of interesting as I’ve become so involved with Planned Parenthood.”

In spite of opposition from her extended relatives, Scranton still regards the choice issue as one of irrefutable importance – one that has impacted her own life directly. “A lot of my friends, and myself included, have used Planned Parenthood in high school and in college. I’ve had friends who’ve had direct experiences with having to make the hard decision of whether or not to have an abortion. I’ve seen how it’s impacted people’s lives, so it’s always been something that I’ve really, deeply cared about. I’m so grateful that I get to work on it every day.”

It’s no secret that, over the last few years, Scranton and the rest of the Planned Parenthood team have been dealt more than their fair share of overwhelming roadblocks and challenges, particularly from an unrelenting anti-choice base within the Michigan state legislature and Michigan’s branch of Right to Life, which, according to Scranton, is one of the most powerful chapters of the anti-choice organization in the nation. Three pieces of restrictive, anti-choice legislation have been passed through both the House and the Senate since Scranton joined up with Planned Parenthood, and such basic concepts as access to contraception and reproductive health have been continuously placed under attack by special interest forces that, as Scranton puts it, are simply “wasting our time.” Perhaps most prominent of these is Senate Bill 776, which, though ultimately vetoed by the governor, acquired approval from both branches of the legislature and would have prohibited late-term abortion, even without exceptions for procedures that are required to save the life of the mother.

Still, Scranton’s Planned Parenthood is nothing to sniff at in Michigan, either. Over the last several years, the group has successfully pushed through a few healthy pieces of pro-choice legislation, including a bill that has required hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape survivors, and has been instrumental in the elections of Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senator Debbie Stabenow. As for the future, Scranton is optimistic about choice in Michigan and the role she and Planned Parenthood will continue to play in maintaining a strong, dependable backbone within the progressive community. “In 2008, we helped elect some of the pro-choice legislators who will be here in January for the first time: eight out of the nine Democratic pickups in the House are all pro-choice, and so we’re really excited about that, because these people ran on these issues. Sometimes, we get people elected who kind of shy away from what we believe in, and these people we can actually point to will be winning on our issues.”

In addition to electoral victories, Scranton has most recently enjoyed some personal victories of her own: this past year, she gave birth to her first child, a girl who, Scranton proclaims proudly, has left her more assured in her pro-choice convictions than ever before. While raising her daughter, Scranton is confident that she will be sticking firmly with Planned Parenthood and continuing in her determination to keep choice safe for Michigan and for the next generation.

“When I had my daughter, I never felt as pro-choice, and I knew how much this issue really mattered and how much I’m going to continue to fight for it; to make sure that she has all of the freedoms in her lifetime that I’ve had in mine. The one thing I know is that I’ll always be a very strong advocate for the issues I care about, and choice is definitely at the top of that list, and I can say that with 100% backing.”