Employee reviews call Planned Parenthood’s work environment ‘toxic’ and ‘exploitative’

The New York Times recently published a bombshell article, declaring that Planned Parenthood is in a “crisis,” and exposing how the corporation botches patient care and mistreats employees while it prioritizes the funding of national legal and political campaigns over the upkeep of individual facilities. The article features testimony from former Planned Parenthood employees about the substandard conditions of the corporation’s facilities, poor patient care, and lack of staff, staff training, and proper pay.

It appears that Planned Parenthood employees have been voicing similar concerns for some time. Live Action News has documented dozens of online reviews, allegedly posted by current and former Planned Parenthood employees, claiming that the abortion corporation promotes toxic workplaces and exploits its employees. 

The following reviews were taken from the websites of Glassdoor and Indeed, and were viewed and documented by Live Action News in February and March of 2025.

LACK OF TRAINING AND PROPER PAY

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

“Exploitative,” reads the title of one Glassdoor review, posted by an alleged former employee. “This organization rests on their laurels as being famous for women’s health access without actually providing patient-centered care. The staff training is minimum. They bait and switch employees with promises of roles and skill improvement.”

The review also mentions that Planned Parenthood doesn’t give proper lunch breaks or overtime, and that employees who voice concerns about hours are told they “aren’t a good fit for the mission.”

NYT similarly reports how the affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Arizona, had staff work overtime for no pay, citing the ‘mission.’ 

‘Staff have been explicitly told to get part-time work in order to cover their basic needs,’ said a report acquired by NYT. According to NYT, the report said “staff members worked after hours without clocking in ‘because the work must get done.’”

NYT reports that multiple current and former employees of Planned Parenthood shared “that their complaints were met with reminders that they were in a ‘mission moment,’ meaning a time of crisis for reproductive rights so urgent that it overshadowed their concerns.”

Source: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Planned-Parenthood/reviews

“From the start, the expectations were off and there was no support for training for multiple positions nor is the time given to allow for a proper, realistic training plan that trainees are comfortable with,” reads an Indeed review, allegedly authored by a former assistant health manager at a Planned Parenthood in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The review claims that employees were not allowed to work overtime, and claims it was “not possible” to get the job done “some days without it.”

The review criticizes Planned Parenthood’s business model: “Terrible business model that makes patients wait hours for their appointment.”

NYT echoes similar employee complaints about Planned Parenthood’s business model: “Clinic employees said repeatedly in interviews that patients routinely encountered long waits, untrained staff members and even trouble booking an appointment.”

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

A Glassdoor review of a Planned Parenthood in New Haven, Connecticut, apparently authored by a former clinic assistant explains that Planned Parenthood does not offer certifications in phlebotomy and medical assisting. This calls into question the legitimacy of Planned Parenthood’s training of employees in these vital areas.

“Another draw back is that although they offer you training in phlebotomy and medical assisting, for example, they do not offer you any certification in those skills so you cannot find a comparable job elsewhere without paying to get certified somewhere else.”

NYT cites Planned Parenthood’s bad training, particularly for medical assistants: “Training has been a constant issue, especially for medical assistants, who are not required to have medical training to work in the clinics… in many clinics, they also draw blood and take vital signs.”

Source: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Planned-Parenthood/reviews

“My experience was horrible. I was not trained on certain things and the manager definitely was the worse [sic] manager I ever had,” wrote an alleged former employee on Indeed. Under “Cons,” the reviewer wrote: “Everything.”

Source: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Planned-Parenthood/reviews

“Training for all staff is limited to training each other and hoping for the best,” says the review posted to Indeed by an alleged former health center manager in Gainesville, Florida. “Medical assistants are paid minimum wage but then have to act like nurses.”

NYT says something very similar about Planned Parenthood’s peer training: “Clinic workers complained that they were learning from inexperienced peers. More than a dozen said they did not receive adequate training for patient intake, blood draws and other tasks.”

As NYT reported and as was stated above, Planned Parenthood does not require medical training for medical assistants. If this review is true, and medical assistants really have to “act like nurses” at Planned Parenthood, when they don’t have any real medical training and are unfairly compensated, what exactly are these medical assistants ordered to do behind Planned Parenthood doors, and how do the patients suffer from undergoing treatment at the hands of these untrained staff?

If Planned Parenthood staff really aren’t trained properly, how do their patients end up?

‘DYSFUNCTIONAL AND INEFFECTIVE’ MANAGEMENT

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

“Dysfunctional and Ineffective,” reads the title of one Glassdoor review, posted by an alleged former employee (of more than five years) at the national New York Planned Parenthood office. “The national office is both toxic and a mess of personality politics.”

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

“Employees exempt from mission,” reads the title of a Glassdoor review of Virginia League of Planned Parenthood. “This place is TOXIC. It’s difficult work, sometimes rewarding but not when leadership is completely out of touch. I’ll support the PP mission but VLPP in particular needs an overhaul of leadership. Unprofessional, gaslighting, gossiping worse than teenagers–nothing stays confidential in regards to employees’ conversations with HR. Fear-mongering tactics leave employees afraid to stand up for themselves for fear of retaliation.”

The review also urges VLPP leadership to “actually do something about” DEI/DEB.

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

“Get your experience and go!… Overworked. No work/life balance. No autonomy within leadership. High turnover. Female dominant environment, so, very catty demeanor with leadership. All of your cries for help will go unheard. No career development or mentorship. All leadership roles are external hire,” claims a Glassdoor review by an alleged former employee in White Plains, N.Y.

This review mentions Planned Parenthood’s high employee turnover rate, as did NYT. “Turnover is hovering around 50 percent a year,” according to NYT.

HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT: UNFAIR RETALIATION, FAVORITISM, RACISM

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

“No support, blame game,” a Glassdoor review from an alleged employee of more than three years in Los Angeles wrote. “Some staff can be bullies and unfortunately unprofessional. Instead of looking into the situation if it involves someone in leadership positions they dismiss the allegations and turn the situation on the reporter. Toxic work environment in some departments and political stress makes work feel unsafe.”

Source: https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Planned-Parenthood-Reviews-E14417.htm

“People of color be warned,” reads the title of a Glassdoor review from a former employee in New York City. The review praises Planned Parenthood’s “Incredible mission and great affinity groups,” but goes on to cite Planned Parenthood’s alleged “[d]istaste for paying employees a livable wage,” and advises management, “Do not white wash the survey feedback from employees.”

Source: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Planned-Parenthood/reviews

“Culture of indoctrination,” an Indeed review by a former clinician in San Diego alleges. “If you’re a favorite or have the right demographics you can be treated well and offered opportunities. Not so if you are not. Many employees leave disgruntled. Management can put a lot of pressure and be very unsupportive when you’re not favored.”

If the reviews above were, in fact, posted by current or former employees of Planned Parenthood, and are honest, what might be the impact of Planned Parenthood’s treatment of staff on the women and babies the abortion business purportedly serves? 

If Planned Parenthood staff are untrained, overworked, underpaid, discriminated against, intimidated, and under pressure to hide behavior that should be reported, it is highly probable that the women walking through Planned Parenthood doors are also being exploited.

Live Action has well-documented evidence which shows as much.