PLANNED PARENTHOOD LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS
Bringing Order and Sanity to a Climate of Fear and Violence

On December 30, 1994, two young women, Shannon Lowney and Leanne Nichols, were killed and five others injured by an assailant named John Salvi at the Planned Parenthood and Preterm clinics in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Since Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) did not then have a crisis plan, a mechanism was immediately established for responding to the media frenzy. The executive director was defined as the clinic's sole spokesperson, and she was prepared carefully before each interview and news conference. The staff was shielded from unwanted media attention, while at the same time, their commitment, intelligence and strength were illustrated through targeted media. As plans were made to re-open, the staff and patients were prepared for the inevitable resumption of protests in front of the clinic, while the public was assured that extensive security precautions would be in place, without providing specifics. Defining Shannon for the public was also important, so that she would not become an anonymous victim, but be remembered as a cherished co-worker and friend who was senselessly and viciously murdered. A memorial fund was established in Shannon 's memory both to honor her and to solicit much-needed funds for clinic safety, anticipated as high as $500,000. Meanwhile the accused perpetrator was cast as a pre-meditated killer, responsible for his deadly actions, as a strong counter to his expected insanity defense.

In the first six weeks after the shooting, PPLM's executive director was featured in 200 local print and television news stories – as well as on ABC, CBS and CNN – with her call to "stop the climate of fear and violence" featured regularly and prominently. Thirty stories detailed Shannon 's background, and her memorial service was covered live by all five local television stations and received widespread local and national print coverage.

The clinic resumed patient services by the end of the week following the shootings, and funds were raised for Shannon 's memorial fund. At the same time, the organization was well-positioned in the media and among its supporters to focus its efforts on a capital campaign that raised the funds necessary to move its headquarters and clinic to a new, state-of-the-art building in Boston just a half mile from the Brookline site.