Staff complaints continue at another Planned Parenthood affiliate

According to a report from MPR News, the latest Planned Parenthood affiliate to wrangle with significant "internal strain" is Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS), as staff have filed seven complaints about management in the last two years.

Key Takeaways:

• MPR News recently reported that staff are experiencing "internal strain" due to pressure to see as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible (among other reasons), at Planned Parenthood North Central States.

• Staff complaints are not new to the abortion corporation, with past complaints of antisemitism and discrimination.

• As more Planned Parenthood facilities close, the abortion corporation continues to place the blame on COVID-19 and the Trump administration.

• The main reason for closing facilities appears to be the corporation's own increased efforts to expand telehealth abortion by pill, which increases profits and cuts costs related to operating brick-and-mortar facilities.

The Details:

Staff members at PPNCS have complained of a work environment that is both disrespectful and chaotic, according to MPR News. When staff spoke up, managers and executive leaders allegedly tried to silence them. Staff also noted a lack of resources and support from upper-level employees, a lack of managerial staff, and pressure to see as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible.

In addition, PPNCS recently closed eight of its 23 health centers and laid off 66 employees.

Addie Evans, former senior health center manager for PPNCS, quit due to frustration over these concerns. She told MPR News, “After COVID, people would come in and be like, ‘I think I’ve had BV (bacterial vaginosis) for six months, and now it is a kidney infection.' The complexity was growing, but the time allotted to see the patient was not. Patients would say, ‘I’m not going to come here anymore; I’m going to see my primary care provider’ or ‘I’m going to go online and order my medication.’” 

She said staff members expressed their concerns about declining patient care, but rather than being met with support and solutions from management and executives, they were met with pushback. Evans said she was labeled a troublemaker.

"Then it was also just kind of trying to keep staff happy with really toxic management," she said.

When she decided to leave PPNCS, she gave her two-week notice, but was terminated just days later.

While Planned Parenthood blames the Trump administration and cuts to their federal funding for the reduced staff, the closing of facilities, and financial stress on the company, such troubles for the abortion giant are not new.

Zoom Out:

Planned Parenthood has been closing locations for over a decade. Recently, the closings seem to have more to do with a deliberate move toward telehealth abortions and cutting overhead costs than with who is in the White House.

As previously reported by Live Action News, Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s president claimed in early 2024 that 70% of the corporation’s abortions are now committed via the abortion pill regimen, which is supplied to women via telehealth. When Planned Parenthood of Illinois shut down four of its centers in 2025, it said that it would be “expanding virtual options via telehealth appointments and the PPDirect app to minimize patient disruption.”

The abortion industry is estimated to gross $300 million annually from abortion pill sales, according to a report funded by the pro-abortion group Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH). Virtual abortion allows abortion businesses to increase profits by eliminating facilities and staff, and by drastically reducing the time spent with clients. By blaming the closures on politics, however, Planned Parenthood has a sad story to pitch to donors.

In addition to blaming politicians, Planned Parenthood also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020

• The Times Union reported on layoffs, furloughs, and firings at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY). Staff was "reduced by about 28 percent across all departments," according to emails obtained by the Times Union. But staff who spoke with the news outlet "on condition of anonymity" said it had nothing to do with COVID. They explained, "[T]he crisis gave leadership cover to implement layoffs and closures it had already been planning." Leadership denied this claim. The news of those layoffs and firings came after an announcement that PPGNY had begun to roll out telehealth services — unsurprising to anyone paying attention.

• Planned Parenthood fired 20 staffers in Texas, blaming COVID; however, KXAN reported that former staff members alleged the firings were "direct retaliation for both voicing complaints to the CEO and their ongoing efforts to unionize within the past year." Allegedly, staff had not been offered paid sick leave if they had symptoms of COVID, and were being forced to do non-essential work for patients in-person. Despite COVID restrictions in place at the time. Ella Nonni, who worked there for two years, said, "Our suspicion is that [the layoffs and firings were] motivated by our organizing activity."

2022

• Staff accused Planned Parenthood management and executives of discrimination against workers "based on race and religion" and of creating "a hostile work environment, retaliation and unlawful termination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." A lawsuit was brought against Planned Parenthood Federation of America, claiming that former staff member Ilana Gamza-Machado de Souza was "fired from Planned Parenthood for complaining about antisemitism at the organization" after she "alerted more senior managers."

• A separate lawsuit from former staff member Nicole Moore alleged that the abortion corporation "tokenized" staff of color, and retaliated against them when they spoke out.

2025

• An article published in Flatwater Free Press detailed "chaotic management" and "unresponsive out-of-state executives" at an Omaha Planned Parenthood. It spoke with seven current and former employees who complained of insufficient training that led to burnout, pressure from management to break standard procedures, and inconsistencies in patient care. Former staffer Sabrina Stratman told Flatwater Free Press, “(Planned Parenthood is) kind of creating a ban of its own." She said she didn't leave the abortion business because she didn't believe in what it does, but "because the environment became unsustainable."

Over the years, Planned Parenthood employees have gone to the media about issues such as failure to pay employees a decent wage, poor treatment of staff, efforts to prioritize profits over patient care, and alleged discrimination against pregnant employees.

The Bottom Line:

Years of staff complaints combined with controversies, bad PR, and image issues — including the trafficking of aborted baby body parts, whistleblower lawsuits, covering up for child sexual predators, and other scandals, abuses, and fraud — prove that Planned Parenthood is about profits, not people. Planned Parenthood paints itself as a health care organization that puts patients first, but stories from behind closed doors tell a very different story.