Photo credit: Shane Vander Hart
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland announced today that due to the loss of most of their state funding they would be closing clinics in Bettendorf, Burlington, Keokuk and Sioux City. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a bill last week that reallocated over half of state funding away from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood of the Heartland to federally qualified health centers.
Despite every effort to fight back against extreme lawmakers, PP is forced to close health centers in four Iowa communities, effective 6/30.
— Planned Parenthood (@ppnorthcentral) May 18, 2017
The closing of 4 centers—Sioux City, Quad Cities, Burlington & Keokuk—is a direct result of defunding by @terrybranstad & @kimreynoldsia.
— Planned Parenthood (@ppnorthcentral) May 18, 2017
Since 2010 Planned Parenthood of the Heartland has closed 20 clinics. Iowa’s largest abortion provider still has clinics in Ames, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Des Moines (two locations), Iowa City, and Urbandale.
“Planned Parenthood’s CEO is claiming that “defunding Planned Parenthood will set a health care crisis in motion in Iowa,” stated Jenifer Bowen, spokeswoman for Iowa Right to Life. “Truly their arrogance knows no bounds. Planned Parenthood is NOT a “health care” provider. They primarily provide services related to abortion.”
“The reallocation of our tax dollars, away from the abortion industry, and into the hands of true health care facilities will only empower more Iowa women. With the closure of four more dangerous webcam abortion locations, we are pleased to see Iowa rapidly returning to a state where women and their unborn children are safe from the shrinking abortion giant,” Bowen concluded.
“This is good news for families in the state of Iowa,” Maggie DeWitte, director of Iowans for Life, said. “We worked hard this last session to educate legislators and the general public that there are many quality community health centers in Iowa that provide comprehensive health care to women and families across the state. And they do so without taking the life of precious human beings. This is a victory for our state, and Iowans for Life is committed to continue working to see all abortion clinics closed in Iowa.”
“During the legislative session, we provided more than $3.3 million to go towards women’s health and family planning services and moved to a state-administered program. There were no cuts to these programs and the same amount of funding remains available,” State Representative Joel Fry (R-Osceola), chair of the Iowa House Human Resources Committee, said.
“Due to the switch to a state-run program, funding and access to women’s health services will be more readily available to providers in rural areas rather than concentrated in Iowa’s largest cities. People will be able to receive these services in their local communities now instead of being forced to drive long distances,” Fry added.