A new research analysis debunks the argument that women in the U.S. do not have access to health care when Planned Parenthood is excluded from Medicaid funding.
The Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) analysis found that patients living in states where Planned Parenthood clinics had been defunded by the government were able to successfully switch to other providers, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), Rural Health Clinics (RHC), private doctors’ offices and pregnancy resource centers.
As 41 Planned Parenthood abortion facilities closed or have announced closure in the past year, abortion advocates have argued that many women would lose access to health care services and that alternative health care providers could not accommodate an increase in clients. However, in 2023—the latest year for which statics are available—there were 15,000 FQHC locations in contrast to about 600 Planned Parenthood facilities. CLI found that FQHC locations have helped drastically more women than Planned Parenthood. In addition, patients are able to receive more services tied to cancer screenings and prenatal care at FQHC and RHC than at Planned Parenthood.
Only 2% of U.S. women who are of reproductive age are served by Planned Parenthood. In the past 25 years, cancer screenings at Parenthood have decreased by 79%, breast cancer screenings by 80%, pap tests by 83%, prenatal care by 80% and STI treatments by 19%. In contrast, abortions have increased by 100%.
The CLI referenced a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of 2021 Medicaid data, stating that only 11% of Medicaid family planning clients were served by Planned Parenthood.
“For years, Planned Parenthood received hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding despite abhorrent stories of poor care and its focus on abortion,” said Tessa Cox, CLI senior research associate and author of the analysis document. “Now, with tax dollars being redirected at the state and federal levels, abortion advocates insist that Planned Parenthood is irreplaceable. Women deserve to know they have health care options that extend beyond a group dedicated to ending unborn life.”
“Planned Parenthood’s real business, and its main focus, is abortion,” the analysis concludes. “Redirecting Medicaid funding to the thousands of alternative women’s health providers will not prevent women from accessing health care; it means that taxpayer funding will go to providers of real health care, not the nation’s largest abortion chain.”
President Donald Trump signed a partial defunding of Planned Parenthood earlier this year. The “Big Beautiful Bill” has been challenged in court, as Planned Parenthood filed suit to block the measure. Earlier this month, an appeals court ruled that as the lawsuit continues, the government can continue to defund Planned Parenthood.
