Attacks on Access to Care at Planned Parenthood

For years, politicians in Congress and statehouses across the country have attacked Planned Parenthood patients and their freedom to get the care they need. We’ve got news for them: 1 out of 4 people have visited Planned Parenthood health centers across the country for high-quality, affordable health care, including abortion — and Planned Parenthood is not backing down.

Main Line of Attack: “Defunding” Planned Parenthood

When politicians say they want to “defund” Planned Parenthood, what they really mean is they want to take away patients' care. Their "defunding" plan would block patients who use public health care funds, like Medicaid, from getting that care at Planned Parenthood health centers, even when it's their longstanding, trusted provider.

Many of the people they are targeting have low incomes and lack health insurance. A discriminatory policy called the Hyde Amendment already prohibits federal funds from covering most abortions. So, these “defund” attacks aim to deny people basic preventive services — like birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming care, and more essential sexual and reproductive care.

Politicians who oppose abortion are hellbent on forcing their personal beliefs on everyone else. The latest "defund" efforts are just another part of a decades-long strategy to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers.

Right now, some members of Congress are trying to block people who use Medicaid across the country from getting essential, affordable care at Planned Parenthood health centers — although federal law gives Medicaid enrollees the right to choose their own trusted provider.

“Defund” Attacks Have a History of Harming Patients: 

2024: Missouri

Gov. Parson signed a bill that blocks patients who rely on Medicaid from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in 2020 and 2024 that the State’s two prior efforts to “defund” Planned Parenthood through the budget were unconstitutional. Despite these rulings, the state continues to block patients who use Medicaid from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers.

2021: Texas

After years-long efforts to cut off access to care, courts allowed Texas to block Medicaid patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers. The decision went into effect as Texans struggled with the dual crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and statewide power outages, causing severe delays in critical care.

2017: Congress and Arkansas

• The Trump administration and Congress members hostile to reproductive freedom attempted to pass a bill denying patients who use Medicaid the right to see their trusted Planned Parenthood health center providers. Reproductive health champions and supporters defeated the bill through months of organizing and advocacy.
• Arkansas ended its Medicaid provider agreement with the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate based on misleading, unsubstantiated videos. Once courts allowed it to take effect, it blocked Medicaid patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers.

2007: Congress

As a member of Congress at the time, former Vice President Mike Pence introduced the first federal legislation to “defund” Planned Parenthood back in 2007. Reproductive health champions beat it down — you can’t win a fight with Planned Parenthood.

The fact is, Planned Parenthood and abortion rights are more popular and have more widespread support than any political party or elected official. Planned Parenthood Action Fund will do everything it takes to protect Planned Parenthood patients and the care Planned Parenthood health centers provide.

What “Defund” Attacks Really Do

Despite the false narrative and misinformation spread by some politicians in their attacks against Planned Parenthood, the harmful consequences are very real for communities when politicians take away their care. For instance:

• After Texas excluded Planned Parenthood Texas affiliates and other qualified family planning providers from the state’s family planning program, nearly 45,000 fewer women got care through the program and nearly 30,000 fewer patients got birth control, cancer screenings, and other preventive care. Within five years, 41% fewer women received contraceptive care through the same program.
• After Iowa slashed Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood health centers in the state, there was an 86% decline in the number of people who used Iowa’s family planning services. Without Planned Parenthood, Iowa’s Family Planning Program only served a total of 1,502 Iowans in 2018, down from the 10,817 Iowans who were provided care in 2016, prior to the state's move to "defund" Planned Parenthood.

• In Indiana, state funding cuts forced the Planned Parenthood health center in Scott County to close its doors in 2013. This Planned Parenthood health center was the community’s only provider of HIV testing and education. Scott County didn’t have any testing sites until 2015, after Scott County faced an unprecedented HIV outbreak that then-Governor Mike Pence deemed a public health emergency.
• The Kansas legislature forced the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate out of the nation's only dedicated family planning program, known as Title X, in 2011. The number of Kansans who were able to get birth control, cancer screenings, wellness exams and other reproductive health services through Title X fell by more than 37%.
• A year after Tennessee’s 2011 decision to take away Title X funding from Planned Parenthood health centers and award the grant funds to a faith-based entity instead, family planning services provided to women dropped by 94% in Shelby County.
• Wisconsin’s decision to exclude family planning providers from its women’s health programs forced the closure of five Planned Parenthood health centers in rural Wisconsin, and 3,100 patients lost access to reproductive health care. These rural areas already had large Medicaid enrollment and a shortage of health care providers.
   

Learn More & Take Action

Here's the good news. You can take action to defend patients' rights and the care Planned Parenthood health centers provide. Join in the fight alongside Planned Parenthood Action Fund and supporters — we're fighting back!

Learn how politicians who want to take away our freedoms are angling to block patients from the reproductive health care they rely on at Planned Parenthood — and how you can help stop them:

Say “I Fight For Planned Parenthood.”

Support the millions of patients who depend on Planned Parenthood health centers for essential care — and their freedom to see their trusted provider. Learn how you can defend patients and the lifesaving, life-changing services Planned Parenthood health centers provide. 

Know This: Patients Need Planned Parenthood Health Centers — Many Have Nowhere Else to Turn.

Planned Parenthood health centers are an irreplaceable part of the country's health care system. While some lawmakers maintain that the majority of patients can go elsewhere for the services Planned Parenthood health centers provide, nothing could be further from the truth. Sixty-four percent of Planned Parenthood health centers are located in rural and medically underserved areas. The health threats lawmakers' attacks pose to patients who use Medicaid and other public funds are very real.

This page was last updated May 2025.