More Planned Parenthood clinics in Ohio to close
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region said it plans to close its centers in Springfield and Hamilton, eliciting concerns from its supporters and celebration from a local pro-life group.
The group blamed the federal Reconciliation Bill that Congress passed earlier this month, which bars health care providers that offer abortion services from participating in the Medicaid program.
“Make no mistake: this was not a decision made by Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region,” President & CEO Nan Whaley said in a release. “We took every possible step to keep these centers open, but the devastating impact of state and federal political attacks has forced us into this very difficult position.”
Whaley also told WXIX-TV that Ohio’s two-year budget could end Medicaid expansion if the federal government reduces its match to below 90%. According to the report, the budget also drops Planned Parenthood to last on the state’s priority list for receiving tax dollars for family planning.
The closures take effect on Aug. 1, and the group said it has alerted patients and is working to help people find alternatives. In a release, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio said it doesn’t anticipate any additional closures.
The group also said that “not all positions can be retained.” However, it would make “every effort … to minimize layoffs and ease the transition for affected employees.”
“Planned Parenthood was often the only trusted provider for comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care in these communities,” Whaley added. “This decision—driven by politics, not public health—harms real people who already face barriers to care.”
According to Cincinnati.com, “The Springfield and Hamilton health centers do not provide abortions but serve thousands of patients annually with other health services. This includes birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, cancer screenings and family planning services.”
The group does provide abortions at its locations in Cincinnati and Kettering.
“Every time a Planned Parenthood closes, lives are saved and fewer lies are told. Ohioans do not need this preborn child-killing business,” Cincinnati Right to Life Executive Director Laura Strietmann told WXIX-TV. “Women need love, support, and true healthcare at one of the hundreds of other Federally Qualified Health Centers or from one of Ohio’s many free pregnancy centers. We have always shared the truth: abortion is not healthcare. Maybe the world will wise up and start to understand and agree with this truth.
“Both of these soon-to-be shuttered facilities had routinely referred mothers to the Planned Parenthood abortion mega-death-center on Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati or to the death facility in Kettering, OH—making them complicit outposts in Planned Parenthood’s abortion pipeline,” Strietmann added.
“We’ve served Ohio for 96 years, and we aren’t going anywhere,” Whaley said. “As access to basic health care becomes more politicized, our mission becomes more critical.”
The loss of federal funding is not entirely unexpected. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced a freeze on millions in federal tax dollars for “reproductive care” via Title X.
Adding to Planned Parenthood’s woes, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a pair of South Carolina Planned Parenthood clinics could not sue the Palmetto State for excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid programs.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio previously said it closed its Cleveland Health Center on Euclid Avenue in the city’s Midtown section, also citing the loss of federal funds. Following the announcement, Cleveland Right to Life applauded the closure in a statement to Cleveland 19, thanking lawmakers for standing up to Planned Parenthood, which it called “the most-evil organization of our time.”
