Patients decreasing at Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, while abortions remain steady

By Carole Novielli |  (Via Live Action News)

Planned Parenthood Abortion Corporation (image Credit: Live Action News)

For the past several years, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky has been losing patients and decreasing its Pap test services, while the organization’s abortion numbers and government funding have remained relatively stable. This remains consistent with a national trend showing Planned Parenthood’s services in areas such as contraception, Pap tests, cancer screenings, and breast exams have all decreased while government funding and abortions continue to rise.

Proponents of defunding Planned Parenthood argue that the half a billion dollars the abortion corporation receives each year should be directed towards Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), which offer more services. While Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky’s website (PPINK) states that they operate 17 centers in Indiana, there are 67 rural health clinics in Indiana and 26 Federally Qualified Health Centers in Indiana which provide services at 172 sites in the state, according to the Rural Health Info Hub.

 

Patients Decreasing

In 2013, Planned Parenthood of Indiana merged with Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky (PPINK). That year, Planned Parenthood of Indiana saw 67,916 patients, a decrease of almost 31 percent from 2007 when it served 97,897 patients.

By 2015, the affiliate, which runs centers in two states (Kentucky and Indiana), saw only 55,949 clients and reported that government dollars made up 12 percent of its revenue, totaling  $1,824,912.

In 2016, the numbers again dropped, with PPINK reporting a total of 51,127 clients in Indiana and Kentucky combined –which amounts to fewer patients than its Indiana centers alone reported for 2013.

In contrast, federal health centers listed on the Health Resources Services Administration’s website (HRSA) serve a wider array of health services and served 444,450 Indiana patients in 2015 alone (2016 data has not been published.)

Abortions

Abortions committed by Indiana Planned Parenthood centers have remained relatively steady while other services have dropped substantially.

In 2007, Planned Parenthood of Indiana committed 5,160 abortions. Six years later (in 2013), the affiliate reported a slight dip in these numbers, committing 4,571 abortions.

By 2016, a combined total of 5,397 for both Indiana and Kentucky was reported by PPINK, while government grants to the affiliate totaled $1,675,442.

Pap Tests

In 2007, Planned Parenthood of Indiana reported a total of 50,128 Pap tests in its annual report. By 2010 — just three years later –this number was cut nearly in half to 26,559.

A substantial decrease was seen again in 2013 when the Indiana affiliate reported only 7,124 Pap tests, a drop of almost 86 percent in just three years.

Planned Parenthood Indiana Services decreasing

By 2016, Pap test numbers plunged again, to a combined total of 5,258 reported for Indiana and Kentucky.

In contrast, according to HRSA’s website, Indiana federal health centers reported that 54.4 percent of their patients were cervical cancer screenings (Pap tests) — approximately 240,000 patients.

Contraception Care

Abortion advocates are always touting the importance of contraception, claiming that if Planned Parenthood is defunded, federal health centers will not be able to absorb the influx. However, an analysis by Planned Parenthood’s former “special affiliate,” the Guttmacher Institute, reveals that this may not be the case at all.

Data for both Indiana and Kentucky shows that women do not need to go to an abortion chain to access contraception.

Indiana

Indiana FQHC versus Planned Parenthood contraception care 2015

In 2015, 17 out of 44 counties in Indiana which offer publicly funded contraception had at least one Planned Parenthood center, while 34 counties had at least one FQHC site that provided contraception services. Guttmacher reports that there were no Planned Parenthood centers located in 27 counties. In addition, Planned Parenthood served fewer contraception clients than FQHC sites in 3 of the 17 counties that had Planned Parenthood facilities.

Kentucky

Planned Parenthood versus federal health centers 2015 contraception care

In 2015, two out of 120 counties in Kentucky offering publicly funded contraception had at least one Planned Parenthood center, while 46 counties had at least one FQHC site that provided contraception services. This means that there were no Planned Parenthood facilities located in 118 counties. In addition, Planned Parenthood served fewer contraception clients than FQHC sites in all the counties where there were Planned Parenthood facilities. Less than one percent (2 out of 211) of publicly funded family planning centers in Kentucky were Planned Parenthood centers, which served just 5 percent of contraception clients. FQHC sites served 31 percent.

While Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky operates just two centers in Kentucky, the Rural Health Info Hub shows that there are 190 Rural Health Clinics in Kentucky and 23 Federally Qualified Health Centers, providing services at 211 sites in the state.

Planned Parenthood’s website shows they saw 3,622 patients in Kentucky in 2016 — a decrease of 32 percent from 2015, when the organization served 5,358 patients. In contrast, federal health centers saw 378,258 Kentucky patients in 2015.

In Kentucky, Planned Parenthood currently shows a total of 2,973 cancer screenings, yet federal health centers reported cervical cancer screenings on 56.4 percent of the 378,000 patients they saw in 2015 — 213,192 patients.

Planned Parenthood’s allies continue to deceive the public into believing that the $540 million dollars the taxpayer was forced to send to the abortion corporation is for “health care” — but nothing could be further from the truth.  Congress must move to immediately defund Planned Parenthood, which commits 35 percent of abortions nationally, ending the lives of 900 preborn children each day in America.

This article is reprinted with permission. The original appeared here at Live Action News.