This week brought a significant victory for the pro-live movement in Wisconsin when Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that they will pause all abortions in response to recent federal defunding.
Planned Parenthood Defunded
In July, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful” budget bill. One provision in the bill cuts off Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. However, later on in July, a federal judge temporarily blocked the provision. But just a few weeks ago, an appeals court lifted the block, and the defunding measures went back into effect.
In Wisconsin, sixty percent of Planned Parenthood’s clients are covered by Medicaid. Although the Hyde Amendment has prohibited the direct use of federal funding for abortions for decades, the use of Medicaid for other services indirectly funds Planned Parenthood’s abortion agenda. Each year, Planned Parenthood performs over 400,000 abortions – over a thousand every day. Organizations like Planned Parenthood should never profit from taxpayer dollars.
Better Options for Women
As expected, the defunding measures met with opposition from Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion supporters. Planned Parenthood announced, “Nearly 200 health centers in 24 states are at risk of closing, and an overwhelming majority of the Planned Parenthood health centers that may close provide abortion care.” In addition, Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion supporters have claimed that defunding will not only limit access to abortion but also to other forms of women’s health care. Their argument is simply untrue.
Tessa Cox, pro-life advocate and senior research associate at Charlotte Lozier Institute explains, “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.”
While Planned Parenthood presents itself as a caring, health-seeking organization that provides vital pregnancy care, the facts speak otherwise. Prenatal care, miscarriage care, and adoption referrals together account for just 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy care services. An overwhelming 97 percent of Planned Parenthood’s so-called pregnancy resolution services are abortions. And for every 187 abortions performed, Planned Parenthood makes only one adoption referral.
And while pro-abortion advocates claim that Planned Parenthood is an indispensable provider of women’s care, the numbers tell the truth. For every Planned Parenthood facility in the United States, there are an estimated fifteen community-based health clinics that offer women’s health care and over four pregnancy resource centers many of which provide ultrasounds, medical care, material items, and counseling services at little to no cost. You can find a list of Wisconsin pregnancy care centers at Choose Life Wisconsin. The fact of the matter is that women have many options for quality health care outside of Planned Parenthood.
Abortions on Pause
Here in Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood has been defunded from state funds since 2011. Since then, the number of Planned Parenthoods in Wisconsin has dropped from 27 to 22. And, in an unexpected bit of good news, a clinic in Delavan, Wisconsin permanently closed its doors on July 31.
Now, as just announced, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will be halting all abortions starting October 1. Although we do not know how this pause will last, we can be thankful for every life that will be saved while it does.
Planned Parenthood preys on the vulnerability of women in crisis. When Planned Parenthood isn’t the first option available, these mothers have a higher chance of looking for and receiving support from pregnancy help centers that promote life rather than abortion. The federal defunding of Planned Parenthood, the closure of the Delavan clinic, and the pause on abortions by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, are all excellent news for both women and children.
The fight to end the murder of the innocent unborn is far from over, but we can rejoice in the good news that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s abortions will soon be on pause and that many of Planned Parenthood’s centers of death may soon join Delavan in closing their doors for good.
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