Planned Parenthood's misinformation campaign over defunding deepens

A report prepared by the Offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Ron Wyden, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, and others called the one-year defunding of certain abortion providers (including Planned Parenthood) in Trump's Big Beautiful Bill a "disaster" — but was it?

The data allegedly comes from a Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund report entitled, “As Access is Stripped, People Cannot Get the Preventive Care They Need,” published in March 2026. Updated information has revealed the report link is accessible here.

Key Takeaways:

• Pro-abortion senators have issued a report claiming that President Trump's defunding of abortion providers including Planned Parenthood in the "Big Beautiful Bill" was a "disaster," claiming that because of it, 23 PP facilities have had to close.

• Even before the defunding was passed, Planned Parenthood noted multiple facility closures and claimed that the defunding could cause up to 200 facility closures. What the corporation failed to note was the fact that it had already planned a business model change to telehealth, which necessitated the closure of brick-and-mortar facilities to increase profits.

• Planned Parenthood's non-abortion services, such as birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing, and more, have been declining for many years, despite its taxpayer funding and abortions increasing exponentially.

• Blaming the one-year defunding for Planned Parenthood's closures is dishonest; Planned Parenthood was already bleeding cash, losing due to its own "mission creep," and had already begun adjusting its business model (moving toward telehealth) to enhance profits.

The Backstory:

While Planned Parenthood has received hundreds of millions year after year in taxpayer dollars, the organization's own reports show plummeting legitimate health care services, like cancer screenings and well woman exams. Even the contraceptive services it offers – touted by so many as the reason Planned Parenthood is still “needed” – have dropped by nearly HALF since 2009.

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” (BBB) which included a provision to defund elective abortion providers of federal taxpayer dollars from Medicaid for one year. Planned Parenthood claimed its defunding could result in the closure of up to 200 facilities.

To make up that anticipated lost revenue, Planned Parenthood began targeting abortion-friendly states and using the media to stoke outrage and raise funds.

But 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.

In March of 2026, a group of Democrat Senators published a report highlighting what Planned Parenthood claimed were facility closures and decreased services as a result of the BBB's defunding. This is not the first time pro-abortion politicians got the facts wrong on Planned Parenthood, as the video below reveals:

Pro-abortion politicians mislead women about Planned Parenthood

The Details:

Closed Facilities

The report begins by claiming that, since last summer's federal Medicaid defunding, "23 Planned Parenthood health centers have been forced to close across the country, stripping patients of essential health care and putting the Americans most in need of care at risk, while forcing already strained providers to take on additional patients in need."

The report claims this prevented Planned Parenthood from providing "essential health care services at Planned Parenthood health centers, including primary care, birth control, cancer screenings, and wellness exams."

Live Action News documented that even when the BBB bill was temporarily blocked by the courts, Planned Parenthood announced that “nearly 200" of their facilities would be "at risk of closure.”

Then, in September, it 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." (The Senators' report acknowledged that during this time, it was actually 51 Planned Parenthood facilities that closed.)

Services

Defunding Planned Parenthood "threatens to permanently eliminate access to care, including routine preventive care, in communities that rely on Planned Parenthood, leaving patients with nowhere else to turn," the report claimed.

Data provided by Planned Parenthood to these lawmakers claimed:

• Breast exam visits fell by 25% in December.

• Sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing declined 11% in November.

• Emergency contraception kits dispensed or sold dropped by 6% in December.

• Birth control pills dropped by 20% in November.

• Visits for intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) dropped by 36% in December — the steepest decline across all services measured.

But this isn't new; in fact, as Live Action News has reported numerous times, a significant amount of Planned Parenthood's services (other than abortion) have been dropping for a very long time.

Even the breast exam services Planned Parenthood offers (at one time, Planned Parenthood falsely claimed to offer mammograms) dropped over 10% in the last reported year (~213k in 2022-23 to ~191k in 2023-2024); and have plummeted over 82% at Planned Parenthood since 2000.

In addition, over the past decade, contraceptive services at Planned Parenthood have decreased nearly 40%, from 3.7 million recorded in 2012-2013 to 2.2 million recorded in 2022-2023.

According to its own annual reports, additional services have plummeted over the years, while abortions have soared to record highs.

• Clients: Down nearly 33% from 2006.

• Prenatal care: Down 77% from its high in 2010.

• Overall cancer screenings: Down over 80% since 2004.

• Pap tests: Down over 85% since 2004.

• Adoption referrals: Down over 56% since 2007.

Despite these facts, some in the media have claimed defunding abortion providers would actually increase the deficit by $300 million.

Mark Wiltz, Live Action's Director of Government Affairs, responded:

The facts are straightforward. When you stop funding abortion providers, those providers lose revenue and begin to shut down locations. That is already happening.

The claim that this somehow creates a deficit is based on speculation, not outcomes.

What we know for certain is that funding is being redirected and the system is adjusting. At the same time, policies that support life strengthen families and contribute to long term economic stability in ways that no short-term estimate can measure.

Abortions

The Senate report claimed the BBB "functioned" as a "backdoor abortion ban" because "The vast majority of abortions happen in person."

However, in 2016, the FDA removed the requirement that the pill be taken in front of an clinician, enabling women to take the drug at home. In 2021, the FDA temporarily removed the in-person requirement for dispensing the drug, which opened a flood gate of mail order pills. That change was made permanent in 2023, and retail pharmacies were then also allowed to dispense the drug.

The idea that the majority of abortions take place in-person is simply misleading due to these factors.

In addition, swallowing an abortion pill in a clinician's office only to expel a deceased preborn child several hours later at home or in a dorm room (if the abortion is actually completed) doesn't sound remotely like an "in-person" abortion

The report also bemoaned the fact that "CPCs [pregnancy resource centers, which offer tangible assistance to pregnant and parenting moms and families] already vastly outnumber Planned Parenthood health centers." (It fails to mention that this has been the case for many years despite Planned Parenthood's vast amount of taxpayer funding).

It continued:

In total, the health centers that were forced to close had previously seen an estimated 21,000 abortion patients annually... Planned Parenthood health centers that border states with abortion bans act as key abortion access points

But the federal Hyde Amendment prohibits taxpayer dollars from funding abortion at the federal level. In addition, Planned Parenthood itself admitted that an overwhelming number of abortions it commits are by abortion pills.

Facts to Note

• Planned Parenthood's latest annual reports reveal it committed over 400,000 abortions while receiving nearly $800 million from taxpayers.

• This is a 100% increase in abortions and a 291% increase in taxpayer funding (nearly $203M v $792M) since 2000.

• Since 2000, Planned Parenthood has committed over 7.5M abortions, received nearly $11.4B from taxpayers, and accumulated nearly $2.2B in excess revenue.

Still the pro-abortion Senators bemoaned, "But while states have allocated approximately $300 million in funding to help fill the gaps left by the 'defund' provision, Planned Parenthood health centers still face a significant shortfall."

Low-Income and Rural Communities

The Senator's report repeated a theme that Planned Parenthood was essential for low-income and rural communities, claiming, "Republican attempts to permanently defund Planned Parenthood will leave patients with nowhere else to turn."

The truth is that Planned Parenthood is very much replaceable.

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.

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.

Wyden Press Conference on Harms of Defunding Planned Parenthood

What's Really Happening:

Planned Parenthood has played the victim for political gain by threatening the closures of hundreds of facilities due to the BBB and then seeking a bailout from states with pro-abortion leadership.

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

As Planned Parenthood shutters brick-and-mortar facilities, it is 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 years ago.

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.

Reality Check:

Much of Planned Parenthood's financial growth has come from taxpayer-subsidized programs like Medicaid and Title X, all while skirting federal requirements to receive those taxpayer dollars.

Pro-abortion senators bemoaned:

But while states have allocated approximately $300 million in funding to help fill the gaps left by the 'defund' provision, Planned Parenthood health centers still face a significant shortfall.

In its 2023-24 report, Planned Parenthood recorded receiving nearly $800 million in taxpayer dollars while it killed more than 402,000 preborn children – a record number on both counts.

Over $200 million of Planned Parenthood’s revenue that year likely came from abortion alone.

In the last 25 years, Planned Parenthood has seen an increase of nearly 300% in taxpayer dollars. It has collected $11.4B from taxpayers while ending the lives of 7.5 million preborn babies.

Planned Parenthood's business model is focused largely on abortion. It has even fired its presidents for attempting to transition the corporation to a less abortion-focused model.

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.