The Dire Long-Term Damage of “Defunding” Planned Parenthood

An October report by Planned Parenthood found that since the law was signed on July 4, 20 health centers nationwide had been forced to close. Prior to September, when this provision went into effect, nearly half of all visits to Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide were from Medicaid recipients who relied on the program to cover the cost. For low-income patients who relied on Planned Parenthood for their medical needs, the threats to these clinics could have an immediate impact.

“When the clinic in their community closes, they suddenly have to either drive farther to find a different place to go get high quality care, maybe end up forgoing care altogether, putting it off until maybe it’s no longer preventive care,” said Amy Friedrich-Karnik, the director of federal policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization which supports abortion access. She added that, in regions where clinics close, other medical providers may not be able to “absorb all of those patients so quickly.

“We don’t have a very cohesive health care system in this country, especially when it comes to reproductive health care,” Friedrich-Karnik continued. “Any of these types of policies that mess with the system and cause clinics to close really harm patients, especially in those communities where they already may struggle to get access to health care.”