Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California Sound the Alarm on Speaker Johnson’s Heinous ‘Defund’ Comments

May 2, 2025

Shelby McMichael

Communications Manager

SACRAMENTO — Today, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California released the following statement after Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans earlier this week to “defund” Planned Parenthood and stop patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers.

Statement from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California CEO and President Jodi Hicks:

“Speaker Mike Johnson has confirmed his party’s priorities once again. He and his Republican colleagues in Congress plan to defund Planned Parenthood and decimate health care access for millions of Americans, including people in California.

Planned Parenthood is an irreplaceable part of the health care system. 1 in 4 Californians have relied on Planned Parenthood for care and the majority of patients are low-income, under resourced individuals who often depend on Planned Parenthood health centers to the provide the essential health care they often cannot access anywhere else. In California alone, more than 80% of Planned Parenthood patients rely on public health insurance programs, including Medi-Cal and Family PACT, to access health care.  

But Johnson and his anti-abortion allies simply do not care. They are willing to risk the health and lives of patients across the country just to score political points by attacking Planned Parenthood and what we represent – reproductive freedom.

For months, Republicans in Washington have made it clear that they are serious about excluding Planned Parenthood from the Medicaid system all together. With this real and imminent threat, we urge state leadership in California to continue to support Planned Parenthood and ensure that the countless Californians that walk through Planned Parenthood health center doors each and every day seeking vital health care can continue to access the care they need and deserve.”

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