Planned Parenthood to close Louisiana clinics
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast President Melany Linton said in a statement the Louisiana closures are a 'direct result of relentless political assaults.'
'This is not a decision we wanted to make; it is one we were forced into by political warfare. Anti-reproductive health lawmakers obsessed with power and control have spent decades fighting the concept that people deserve to control their own bodies,' she wrote.
She added that 'extremists' lawmakers have done everything in their power to try and 'defund' Planned Parenthood and dismantle public health infrastructure and prevent Americans from receiving needed health care.
'Every health center closure, every patient who goes without care, every undetected cancer and untreated infection is on those lawmakers' hands.'
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) called the clinic closures 'welcome news' on a post to the social media platform X.
'Planned Parenthood built its business around promoting death. Louisiana chooses life. We will always protect women and babies.'
Anti-abortion groups also celebrated the news.
'Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry are leaving Louisiana. But the pro-life movement is here to stay. We will always love and serve both mom and baby,' said Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, in a statement.
Under a provision in the GOP megabill, non-profit organizations that offer abortions and received more than $800,000 in federal funding in 2023 are barred from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for one year.
The provision primarily targets Planned Parenthood. The organization estimates that up to 200 clinics across 24 states are at risk of closing, with 90 percent of those clinics located in states where abortion is protected and legal.
The organization is not allowed to provide abortions in Louisiana, but it did help patients access out-of-state abortions.
The Baton Rouge and New Orleans clinics provide Louisianans with other reproductive and primary health care including birth control, cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing, and treatment.
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast said the two Louisiana health centers provided 17,791 visits for 10,627 patients last year – including nearly 30,000 STD tests, more than 14,000 birth control visits, 1,795 cancer screenings, and 655 ultrasounds among other preventive sexual and reproductive health services.
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