'DEFUND 250': Planned Parenthood's record of misleading the public

On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate the 250th anniversary of her founding — but unless Congress votes to continue banning federal Medicaid dollars from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, July 4 will also be the day that America's most prolific killer of preborn children will see those taxpayer dollars once again pouring into its bank accounts.

Planned Parenthood deserves to be permanently defunded — and Live Action News' series, 'DEFUND 250,' plans to remind the public of many reasons why.

Planned Parenthood's marketing experts portray the corporation as the "victim" any time taxpayer funding is threatened, often misleading the public by suggesting that facility closures and financial deficits are due to defunding threats; in reality, the organization's own business model prioritizing abortion is to blame.

Key Takeaways:

• Planned Parenthood has repeatedly misled the public regarding the reasons for its facility closures, blaming governmental defunding when the closures were already internally planned.

• Some affiliates were bleeding cash well before the defunding measure.

• Even as Planned Parenthood closed brick-and-mortar facilities, its virtual and telehealth abortion business was being expanded.

The Details:

The Timeline

• July 1, 2025: Planned Parenthood announced that “nearly 200" of their facilities would be "at risk of closure” if Congress were to remove Medicaid funding from the abortion corporation.

• July 4,2025: President Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) which, partially defunded businesses that commit elective abortions, including Planned Parenthood, from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursements for one year unless they stop committing elective induced abortions.

• September 11, 2025 Planned Parenthood refused to end their abortion empire and took the fight to the courts. A ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Planned Parenthood to be defunded while the case proceeds. PP acknowledged that "Since the beginning of 2025 nearly 50 Planned Parenthood health centers have been forced to close following the loss of Title X funds and Medicaid reimbursements."

• March 2026: PP's misinformation campaign alleged that because of the 2025 defund measure, 23 PP facilities have had to close.

But many of these closures were not due to the defunding; they were already slated to close due to lack of donors, lack of financial stability, decreasing patients and the implementation of a previously published business model from brick and mortar facilities to Virtual Health Centers (VHC).

#1. Is Planned Parenthood’s report of facility closures and deficits really just a ruse?

In May of 2023, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) made a “strategic decision” to restructure the organization by laying off staff at the national level and instead use those dollars to “build a powerful movement for abortion access at the local and state level.”

Further, in Planned Parenthood’s 2022-23 annual report (published in April of 2024), after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the abortion corporation claimed it hired “90 patient navigators across 41 Planned Parenthood affiliates” which “helped more than 33,000 people get… transportation and travel support, financial assistance, and referrals” for abortions. Reportedly, 15,000+ people received assistance with travel costs, and 50,000+ received assistance in covering abortion costs.

It appears that Planned Parenthood hired extra staff to obtain abortion business, then funded abortions — and then sought sympathy about layoffs and facility closures.

#2. Planned Parenthood plays victim despite intentional shift toward virtual business model

In July of 2025, Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson told the New York Times:

"There is not now, and has never been, a plan to stop providing abortion care in the hopes of preserving federal funding."

The organization clearly prioritized abortion over its Medicaid clients.

Even before the one-year defunding measure was signed into law:

• Planned Parenthood was allegedly sending out pink slips.

• Some affiliates showed clears signs of financial problems.

• Clients at the abortion corporation had been declining for decades.

• PP moved toward telehealth services — including chemical abortions, which make up about 70% of its business.
  

Planned Parenthood often claims that abortion is not a significant part of its business model, but whenever abortion is threatened, somehow that prompts a sudden decision to downsize or lay off staffers, all while playing the victim and raking in millions from empathetic donors.

And that money isn’t always used to help clients.

Former president Cecile Richards said it was her goal to make the corporation into the largest ever “kick butt political organization” – and as a result, the corporation has made many political alliances that benefit its bottom line.

Last year, as Live Action News previously documented, PPFA was accused by those who oversee abortion funds of “siphon[ing] support” and then “funnel[ing] that money into campaign bank accounts.”

#3. ANALYSIS: Some Planned Parenthood affiliates bleeding cash before defunding

Reports indicate that over half of PP affiliates had expenses in excess of the revenue dollars they received — prior to the defund measure being passed. A Live Action News analysis found that:

• 24 out of 47 Planned Parenthood affiliates showed some sort of deficit in the most recently reported year.

• These deficits were recorded prior to the one-year defunding of Planned Parenthood and certain other abortion providers.

• This reveals that some Planned Parenthood affiliates were showing signs of potential financial troubles before any federal government dollars were removed.

As affiliates were showing a deficit, some staffers were complaining about pay cuts while executives were unwilling to slash their own pay to save those staffers' jobs. In addition, donors at the abortion corporation were dropping out.

#4. Planned Parenthood closures, restructuring, and telehealth began long before defunding

Prior to the defunding, PP's Restructuring Plans Were Already in Motion

Planned Parenthood claims it is closing facilities and laying off staff due to the defunding effort, but plans were already in the works to close and consolidate facilities and utilize online telehealth services to a greater degree. Below is a timeline of just some of these events:

May 2023: Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) announced a “strategic decision” to restructure the organization by laying off staff at the national level and instead use those dollars to “build a powerful movement for abortion access at the local and state level.”

These efforts were evident well before the defunding provision was signed into law.

January 2025: PP of Illinois (PPIL) admitted it had “made the difficult decision to close four health centers” due to “facing a financial shortfall brought on by rising health care costs for in-person care, increase in patient volume needing financial assistance, uncertain patient care landscape under a new national political administration, and the need to create a sustainable future after the overturning of Roe v Wade.”

Yet, PPIL announced a plan to “expand[] virtual options via telehealth appointments and the PPDirect app to minimize patient disruption.”

February 2025: The New York Times published an investigation alleging patient care problems and staffing issues at numerous state Planned Parenthood affiliates.

Those issues, some staff members told the Times, stem from financial and political pressures, as well as a funding structure in which the national Planned Parenthood federation focuses the majority of its spending on the legal fight over abortion access, more than providing direct support for the medical care provided by state affiliates.

March 2025: Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK) announced the “launch of its Virtual Health Center in Indiana.”

April 2025: Planned Parenthood of Michigan (PPMI) announced plans to “restructure,” consolidate, and “permanently close” multiple facilities, adding that “over the next few months” PPMI would “work to expand its Virtual Health Center to offer telehealth 7 days per week.”

#5. Planned Parenthood’s ‘Virtual Health Centers’ expand as it closes in-person facilities

As Planned Parenthood shutters brick-and-mortar facilities, it is driving clients to its new online services business model which increasingly relies upon telehealth — including the mailing of abortion pills. Its “Virtual Health Centers (VHCs)” are popping up across the country as part of a larger restructuring plan put in place years ago.

• California: PP announced closures of five brick and mortar facilities and is redirecting clients to telehealth services.

• Illinois: January of 2025, PP of Illinois announced a plan to “expand[] virtual options via telehealth appointments

• Indiana: PP of Indiana announced plans to "consolidate resources and focus on the organization’s remaining health centers and growing its telehealth operations..." later announcing the opening of its “virtual center” in Indiana earlier this year.

• Iowa/Minnesota: While announcing closures, PP North Central States (PPNCS) told NBC it planned to keep investing in telemedicine services and previously announced "PPNCS will reduce the number of brick-and-mortar sites to create regional centers for onsite care while continuing to invest in virtual and online care.”

Competition from independently-run and largely unregulated virtual abortion dispensaries could be putting financial pressure on Planned Parenthood to close brick and mortar facilities and move online. Virtual dispensaries are profitable because they require fewer overhead costs while providing less than a few minutes of implied care with little to no follow-up.

#6. Planned Parenthood donors dropping out over organization’s ‘mission creep’

Planned Parenthood only serves an estimated 2% of American women of reproductive age, and the organization’s services, clients, and donors have plummeted over the years (rebounding slightly last year) while abortions soared to record highs.

A Wall Street Journal article, “What is Planned Parenthood Fighting for?” claimed Planned Parenthood is “tethering itself to causes like democracy reform… and gun control — actions that have alienated some donors, according to former employees.”

WSJ added that Planned Parenthood is offering young people “decidedly liberationist advice, including graphic descriptions of sexual techniques,” along with posts that “celebrate Pansexual Pride Day and declare that ‘virginity is a social construct.’”

It also seems the organization’s “mission creep” toward gender ideology and “gender affirming care” has bothered donors.

Comments left beneath the WSJ article revealed PP donors were...

• Turned off by “progressive” ideology and advocacy

• Discouraged by promotion of abortion over birth control

• Thought their money went to help poor women

• Disappointed at drift away from fight for legal abortion

In addition, staffers claim the national organization is “bloated, with too many employees making too much money in undefined roles,” adding that it has “ghosted donors” and may have mismanaged philanthropic gifts.

“Meanwhile, many clinics are underfunded and operate at a deficit,” noted WSJ. “Some former executives said the national office’s outspoken progressive agenda can make it harder for affiliates to gain the support of local and state governments. Over the past two decades, clinics have closed or left the network. (Planned Parenthood would not provide specific numbers.)”

#7. The Facts: Planned Parenthood's Killer Year Reveals Highest Abortions and Government Funding ever

In 2024-2025, despite the pre-planned closure of multiple brick-and-mortar Planned Parenthood centers last year:

• PP committed a record 434,450 abortions, an increase of 8% from previous year.

• PP received whopping $832 MILLION in taxpayer dollars, an increase of 5% from the previous year.

Planned Parenthood's abortion revenue alone was previously estimated at $200M annually.

Since 2000:

• PP has more than doubled its abortions (197k v 434.5k) committing nearly 8M abortions (7,969,391).

• Received received nearly $12.3B from taxpayers.

While Planned Parenthood received hundreds of millions year after year in taxpayer dollars, the organization's own reports show plummeting legitimate health care services:

• Clients down nearly 33% from 2006.

• Private donors fell over 27%  2021-22.

• Contraceptive services down over 43% (from just over 4M) in 2009

• Overall cancer screenings decreased, down 82% in a 20-year period, since 2004.

• Breast screenings plummeted over 85% from  2000. 

• Pap tests down nearly 86% from  2004.

• Prenatal Care Service declined drastically over time by 75% since 2010.

• Adoption referrals down over 38% from 2007.

PP now commits nearly 57 abortions for every one prenatal care service it provides and kills over 143 preborn children for every one adoption it refers out.

#8. Planned Parenthood's misinformation campaign over defunding deepens

In March, Planned Parenthood recruited pro-abortion lawmakers to launch a misinformation campaign and claim that President Trump's one-year federal Medicaid defunding of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood in the "Big Beautiful Bill" was a "disaster," and that because of it, 23 PP facilities have had to close.

Despite playing the victim, Planned Parenthood was already bleeding cash, having lost donors due to its own "mission creep." So, the organization sought a financial bailout from states with pro-abortion leadership.

The fact is that, closures of brick-and-mortar facilities at the abortion corporation have occurred for many reasons:

• decreasing clients

• the corporation's deliberate shift to telehealth

• the unionizing of staff

• multiple scandals

... and more.

#9. Planned Parenthood is  replaceable.

Despite only serving an estimated 2% of American women of reproductive age, Planned Parenthood's deceptive marketing business with declining non-abortion services is replaceable. Federally Qualified Health Centers and Pregnancy Help Centers, which do not commit abortions, could receive those funds instead of Planned Parenthood.

In 2024, while PP's services declined, FQHCs...

• Provided more than 87 times the number of prenatal care services as Planned Parenthood. 

• Performed nearly 13 times (12.61) more Pap tests than Planned Parenthood recording 2,186,470 (Pap visits) amounting to 1,972,340 (Pap patients).

• Recorded nearly 2 million (1,966,405) patients receiving mammograms. Planned Parenthood only offers “breast exam” services and advises potential clients to seek referrals for mammograms.

• Provided overall cancer screenings (4.2M breast and 2M mammograms) which outnumbered Planned Parenthood nearly 10 to 1.

• Provided nearly five times more HIV testing than Planned Parenthood: 4.4M HIV Tests to 3.8M patients v. 769,851 recorded  by PP.

• Provided nearly 3 million “contraceptive management” services to clients all over the United States.

In 2024, prior to the BBB, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which do not commit abortions, saw nearly 16 times more patients than Planned Parenthood, outnumbering Planned Parenthood facilities by a factor of 29 to 1.

#10. Review: PP's plays the victim to mislead on closures

Prior to passage of the BBB and the defund measure taking effect:

• Planned Parenthood was already bleeding cash, having lost donors due to its own "mission creep," and had begun adjusting its business model (moving toward telehealth) to enhance profits.

• Planned Parenthood played the victim for political gain by threatening the closures of hundreds of facilities which they blamed on the BBB and then seeking a bailout from states with pro-abortion leadership.

• Planned Parenthood began targeting abortion-friendly states and using the media to evoke empathy to raise funds. But closures at the abortion corporation have occurred or have been planned for many reasons: decreasing clients, the deliberate shift to telehealth, the unionizing of staff, and multiple scandals, among others.

• As Planned Parenthood shutters brick-and-mortar facilities, its business model was already increasingly relying upon telehealth — including the mailing of abortion pills. Its “Virtual Health Centers (VHCs)” are popping up across the country as part of a larger restructuring plan put in place 

Meanwhile...

• Staff complaints inside Planned Parenthood were growing, causing many to unionize or flee the organization. Staff layoffs and cuts were already taking place before the defund measure took place.

• Since the BBB, multiple states have vowed to make up the funding difference. "Thirteen states have allocated millions in funding to Planned Parenthood to maintain access to care," the Senate report specified.

Go Deeper:

Planned Parenthood, founded by eugenicists, has a history of cashing in on the taxpayer. It has:

• Used deceptive Marketing to lure potential clients.

• Discriminated against staffers while being labeled systemically racist.

• Promoted transgender ideology to minors.

• Repeatedly failed to protect patient privacy.

• Repeatedly failed victims of child sexual abuse.