Planned Parenthood shuts down facility in Iowa

Planned Parenthood has shut down another of its Iowa facilities, adding to its list of closures as it shifts its business model towards online abortion pill sales. The Iowa City location sold the abortion pill and committed surgical abortions up to six weeks.

Key Takeaways:

• Planned Parenthood North Central States announced the closure of its Iowa City facility.

• Planned Parenthood claimed the closures were the result of politics.

• The news comes more than a year after the closure of four other Iowa facilities, as well as multiple others in 2023 and 2017.

• While Planned Parenthood blames the Trump administration, it has been working towards a virtual-centered business model for years.

• Iowa recently enacted a law calling for in-person-only dispensing of the abortion pill.

The Details:

Planned Parenthood's Iowa City clinic is set to close, leaving just one other Planned Parenthood facility in the state.

While the abortion giant is quick to blame politics, it will continue to operate via virtual appointments in the state. It will also consolidate its Iowa City 'services' to its Susan Knapp Health Center in Des Moines and restructure to offer more services virtually. That may not include the abortion pill, however, as the state just passed a law requiring in-person dispensing of the two-drug regimen.

"By protecting our core infrastructure now, we will be ready to expand care again when the pendulum shifts — because it will," said Planned Parenthood North Central States President and CEO Ruth Richardson in a statement. "After seeing the resilience of our patients, communities, supporters, champions, and our staff and providers, I believe we have what it takes to sustain our strength and build back."

Yet, Planned Parenthood has been shutting down brick-and-mortar facilities for years. The closure comes about a year after Planned Parenthood announced it would be closing four other facilities in Ames, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Urbandale. It also closed facilities in Des Moines, Cedar Falls, and Council Bluffs in 2023, and Bettendorf, Burlington, Keokuk, and Sioux City in 2017.

In the meantime, Iowa has passed a law requiring women to obtain the abortion pill in person, meaning Planned Parenthood's plan to provide virtual-only abortion pill sales may get derailed.

Zoom Out:

The abortion industry has been shifting to a telehealth model, and the abortion pill has become the go-to method to end the lives of preborn children. The abortion pill accounts for about 80% of all abortions at Iowa's Planned Parenthood facilities, according to Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS), as total abortions in the state fell 80%.

As previously reported by Live Action News, Planned Parenthood's “Virtual Health Centers (VHCs)” are popping up across the country as part of a larger restructuring plan put in place years ago, not because of the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

As explained by Live Action Research Fellow Carole Novielli, "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."