Analysis: Planned Parenthood Isn’t “Irreplaceable” for Women’s Health Care

New Charlotte Lozier Institute analysis underscores alternatives to Planned Parenthood for women seeking health care

Washington, D.C.—New analysis from the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) pushes back against abortion advocates’ claim that Planned Parenthood is “irreplaceable” and that alternative providers cannot absorb its entire Medicaid client base. The paper shows even without the nation’s largest abortion chain, women across the country have access to health care via alternative providers.

According to their own data, Planned Parenthood’s focus is abortion. Total cancer screening and prevention services, breast exams, pap tests, prenatal services, and contraceptive services have all dropped significantly in the last decade despite an increase in abortions.

Key points:

• Federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and doctor’s offices provide comprehensive health care Planned Parenthood doesn’t.
• Pregnancy resource centers help by offering free assistance, including ultrasounds, STI tests, material resources and counseling.
• States like Iowa, Kansas, and Texas that have previously defunded Planned Parenthood from state family planning programs show that Planned Parenthood can be replaced.

Tessa Cox, senior research associate at CLI and author of the paper, said:

“For years, Planned Parenthood received hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding despite abhorrent stories of poor care and its focus on abortion. 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.”

This analysis builds on previous CLI research estimating there are 15 community health centers offering women’s health care for every Planned Parenthood facility in the country.

CLI’s full analysis is available here.

Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.

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