WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — A number of additional Planned Parenthood locations across the country are shutting their doors thanks to new federal restrictions on taxpayer funding to the abortion chain.
Within weeks of returning to office, President Donald Trump began enforcing the Hyde Amendment (which forbids most federal funds from directly supporting elective abortions), reinstated the Mexico City Policy (which forbids non-governmental organizations from using taxpayer dollars for elective abortions abroad), and cut millions in pro-abortion subsidies by freezing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending.
In March, the administration froze Title X “family planning” grants to nonprofits it said violated its executive orders on immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including Planned Parenthood affiliates in nine states.
Last year, Planned Parenthood’s most recent annual report revealed that its affiliates across the nation took in $699.3 million in government “health services” reimbursements and grants, accounting for 39 percent of its total revenue during that period. Losing some of that money has taken a considerable toll.
LifeSiteNews reported last month that the abortion giant closed four facilities in Michigan as a result of the cuts, and now KSL reports that two Utah locations are meeting the same fate, specifically its St. George and Logan locations. Additionally, Planned Parenthood Association of Utah is raising fees and laying off staff. The affiliate relied on $2.8 million that has been frozen over DEI.
“The thing that people will lose is quick access to high-quality, low-cost care,” claimed interim president Shireen Ghorbani, despite the fact that the parent organization’s aforementioned annual report also shows Planned Parenthood continues to reduce non-abortion offerings, such as pap tests and cancer screenings, as percentages of its overall business. The chain is also facing numerous allegations of serious injuries, including botched abortions, and widespread complaints over staff lacking basic medical training and dilapidated facilities.
NPR adds that Planned Parenthood locations are closing due Trump administration cuts in Illinois and New York, as well. This has prompted abortion facilities to shift their focus to distributing abortion pills by mail, which the Trump administration currently says it has “no plans” to restrict.
Evidence indicates that so-called “telehealth” abortions have helped sustain the industry after Roe v. Wade, but cannot fully cancel out the deterrent effect of making surgical abortions harder to obtain. In Marquette County of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, for example, NPR notes that the closest Planned Parenthood location is now almost five hours away by car.
Despite all this progress for life, executive action cannot fully or permanently cut off the nation’s largest abortion chain from the public dole. So congressional Republicans have proposed two different measures: the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which permanently bans federal funds from being used for abortion; and the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which disqualifies Planned Parenthood and its affiliates specifically.
