Planned Parenthood Closures Mark ‘Huge Success’ for Pro-Life Movement
Planned Parenthood is set to close its last two Louisiana facilities next month, a move pro-life advocates call a ‘huge success’ amid ongoing efforts to shut down the organization. Pro-life leaders like Shawn Carney of 40 Days for Life claim the closures reflect the effectiveness of their movement, arguing these facilities can’t operate without abortion services.
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, which runs six clinics in the Houston area and two in Louisiana, announced the closures, blaming ‘relentant political assaults.’ The closures are part of a broader trend of Planned Parenthood facilities shuttering in GOP-led states where abortion restrictions are widespread.
While Planned Parenthood is not allowed to provide abortion procedures in Louisiana, it has helped women access out-of-state abortions. The state’s Attorney General Liz Murrill, also a Republican, wrote that the closures are ‘welcome news,’ stating that Louisiana ‘chooses life’ and will ‘always protect women and babies.’
Carney also pointed out that Planned Parenthood’s claim that abortions make up only 3% of its services is ‘complete garbage,’ arguing that the closures in Republican-controlled states with abortion bans show otherwise.
Addressing the organization’s recent announcement about closing facilities in the Houston area, Carney said these closures represent a ‘tremendous victory’ for the pro-life movement. He predicted that more Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country will continue to merge, with some facilities shutting down completely.
In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated the closures as a ‘major win for the pro-life movement,’ adding that he has fought to ‘rid our state of this failed organization.’ The closures, however, have also sparked debate over the impact on women’s access to reproductive healthcare, particularly in areas where abortion is now illegal.
Planned Parenthood’s financial struggles have been exacerbated by funding cuts, including those proposed by the Trump administration and included in a GOP-backed spending bill. A provision in that bill would end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from the program in 2023, though the provision has been blocked by a federal judge.
Carney emphasized that Planned Parenthood’s dependence on government funding has been a key factor in its decline, noting that the organization has lost 78,000 individual donors last year. He argued that if the organization were to rely solely on private donations, it would have to adapt its business model, which it has yet to do.
As Planned Parenthood continues to face closures in various states, its future remains uncertain. The organization’s ability to survive in a landscape where abortion is increasingly restricted will depend on its capacity to adapt to these changing conditions and find new ways to fund its operations.