Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri said it changed the location of its conference Monday to the Intercontinental Hotel from the The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation amid safety concerns.
The organization cited the recent mass shootings in San Bernadino, California, and at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs as the reason for the change of venue.
Laura McQuade, president and CEO of the local chapter, said that the 80-year-0ld organization was determined to carry on its mission even as it has become embroiled in political controversy.
"This is a conference about the substance of the work that Planned Parenthood and other community health care providers provide in the reproductive healthcare space,"McQuade told an audience of about 70 people. "What does the landscape look like now? What are some of the challenges? But really, what are some of the opportunities that we feel we really want to take on to expand access to services in 2016?"
Former Kansas Gov. and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was the event's keynote speaker.
