Planned Parenthood affiliate plans to close 4 Iowa clinics and another 4 in Minnesota

Four of the six Planned Parenthood clinics successful Iowa and 4 successful Minnesota volition unopen down successful a year, the Midwestern affiliate operating them said Friday, blaming a frost successful national funds, fund cuts proposed successful Congress and authorities restrictions connected abortion.

The clinics closing successful Iowa see the lone Planned Parenthood installation successful the authorities that provides termination procedures, successful Ames, location to Iowa State University. The others are successful Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and the Des Moines suburb of Urbandale.

Two of the clinics being unopen down by Planned Parenthood North Central States are successful the Minneapolis area, successful Apple Valley and Richfield. The others are successful cardinal Minnesota successful Alexandria and Bemidji. Of the four, the Richfield session provides termination procedures.

The Planned Parenthood affiliate said it would laic disconnected 66 employees and inquire 37 further employees to determination to antithetic clinics. The enactment besides said it plans to support investing successful telemedicine services and sees 20,000 patients a twelvemonth virtually. The affiliate serves 5 states — Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

“We person been warring to clasp unneurotic an unsustainable infrastructure arsenic the scenery shifts astir america and an onslaught of attacks continues," Ruth Richardson, the affiliate's president and CEO, said successful a statement.

Of the remaining 15 clinics operated by Planned Parenthood North Central States, six volition supply termination procedures — 5 of them successful Minnesota, including 3 successful the Minneapolis area. The different session is successful Omaha, Nebraska.

The affiliate said that successful April, President Donald Trump's medication froze $2.8 cardinal successful national funds for Minnesota to supply commencement power and different services, specified arsenic cervical crab screenings and investigating for sexually transmitted diseases.

While national funds can't beryllium utilized for astir abortions, termination opponents person agelong argued that Planned Parenthood affiliates should not person immoderate payer dollars, saying the wealth inactive indirectly underwrites termination services.

Planned Parenthood North Central States besides cited projected cuts successful Medicaid, which provides wellness sum for low-income Americans, arsenic good arsenic a Trump medication connection to destruct funding for teenage gestation prevention programs.

In addition, Republican-led Iowa past twelvemonth banned astir abortions aft astir six weeks of pregnancy, earlier galore women cognize they are pregnant, causing the fig performed determination to driblet 60% successful the archetypal six months the instrumentality was successful effect and dramatically expanding the fig of patients traveling to Minnesota and Nebraska.

After the closings, Planned Parenthood North Central States volition run 10 brick-and-mortar clinics successful Minnesota, 2 successful Iowa, 2 successful Nebraska, and 1 successful South Dakota. It operates nary successful North Dakota, though its Moorhead, Minnesota, session is crossed the Red River from Fargo, North Dakota.