Following the shutdown of a local Planned Parenthood facility at the start of May, students at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, find themselves in a “daunting” predicament when it comes to obtaining medical services. This has led to the formation of carpools for transporting individuals on four-hour journeys to a healthcare center located 50 miles distant, according to statements made to Raw Story by residents in the area.
Bridget Ackroyd, a USU senior, mentioned that Logan felt “isolated” and like “its own separate world,” particularly since there’s no public transportation available to get to Ogden, which has the nearest remaining Planned Parenthood facility still operational.
The closure of the Logan clinic impacts students who might find themselves in family circumstances where they cannot afford to bill an STI test to their health insurance, yet they remain committed to maintaining their well-being and safety, as noted by Ackroyd.
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The Logan clinic is one of only two Planned Parenthood healthcare centers in Utah—and part of at least a dozen nationwide—that have closed since President Donald Trump assumed office, as per an analysis by Raw Story.
froze federal funds
for family planning services.
“It’s just heartbreaking that now we know that those folks who relied on us either have to travel, defer care or figure out other ways to access the kind of health care they’ve depended on,” Shireen Ghorbani, interim president of the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, told Raw Story.
It’s a significant setback for these communities.
A late-March
freeze
on Title X grants — federal funds which support family planning services from contraception to cancer screenings and testing for sexually transmitted infections — is just the start of funding challenges for Planned Parenthood health centers across the U.S., with
more than 300
Of its approximately 600 clinics nationwide that use Title X funding.
Suggested reductions to Medicaid within a large bill proposed by Republicans that
advanced
emerged from the House Budget Committee late Sunday but remains in progress.
negotiated between GOP factions
could target Planned Parenthood centers, which also get reimbursed through patients using their Medicaid benefits.
The disintegration of healthcare in this nation is unfolding right in front of us,” stated Ghorbani, “and with this latest budget… cutting Title X funding and decreasing Medicaid support will push us towards an extremely grim future regarding accessibility to medical services, particularly for those at the periphery of society.
Laurel Sakai, who serves as the national director of public policy and government affairs at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, mentioned that the organization has lost over $20 million in Title X grants and around $6 million from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program.
“We completely expect that we are merely scratching the surface, and under this administration, Title X funding could potentially be entirely eliminated,” Ghorbani stated.
‘Dismantling access’
The Planned Parenthood Association of Utah opted to close its Logan and St. George facilities on May 2 following the Trump administration’s freeze of $2.8 million in Title X funding.
In 2024, the clinic in Logan served 1,650 patients, and the St. George clinic served nearly 3,000, according to Ghorbani, who said 18 staff members lost their jobs.
Ackroyd, the USU senior, told Raw Story the closure of the Logan clinic was a “loss” for students who used a sliding-scale payment option instead of billing their parents’ insurance.
“If they’re getting something like a birth control prescription or an STI exam, and they have parents that might have a very negative reaction if they see that charge, it puts into question the safety of those students that want to be able to access that health care without necessarily notifying parents,” Ackroyd said.
Alternative health care options in Logan are Intermountain Health and the campus health center but both rely on using insurance, Ackroyd said. Plus, she said, patients are likely to be stuck “waiting for sometimes hours and hours.”
Ackroyd mentioned that at the Planned Parenthood facility in Logan, she managed to secure a same-day appointment for an intrauterine device.
The Trump administration is eliminating access to essential healthcare services by limiting these funds,” Ghorbani stated. “This results in the disappearance of medical care and job losses, all due to the policies implemented under the Trump administration.
‘Fundamental misunderstanding’
According to
health policy nonprofit KFF
Planned Parenthood obtains one-third of its income from state and federal government funding.
However, due to the Hyde Amendment—a federal policy enacted in 1977—Planned Parenthood health centers cannot use any federal money for abortion procedures. According to KFF, these procedures account for only about 4 percent of services offered at Planned Parenthoods’ facilities.
In its recently published 2023-2024 plan,
annual report,
Planned Parenthood reported that out of over 9.45 million total services provided, 402,230 were abortion procedures, with 34% of their income originating from government health service reimbursements and grants.
Regardless, in late April, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)
announced
that defunding “big abortion” was among Trump’s policy priorities.
Defund Planned Parenthood image (Image credit: Matt Laslo)
www.newsinpo.site
Sakai mentioned that the assaults on Planned Parenthood were “not particularly unexpected, given their efforts against us during the initial Trump administration.”
However, Sakai stated, “Planned Parenthood isn’t just an entry in the budget.” She added, “People specifically opt to visit Planned Parenthoods for essential healthcare services, and these individuals aim to deprive others of this right and option.”
Cara Schumann, who serves as the deputy director of federal strategies at an abortion rights organization,
All* Above All
, said one in 11 women, particularly those on Medicaid, get reproductive health care from Planned Parenthood clinics.
This indicates that reductions in Medicaid along with federal grants such as Title X and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program would hit PlannedParenthood hard, she mentioned.
“This involves their efforts to cut funding from Planned Parenthood clinics for the reproductive healthcare services they offer, including cancer screenings, STI tests, and essential contraception,” Schumann explained to Raw Story.
It appears to be a basic misinterpretation of what Planned Parenthood offers, what healthcare entails, and the services individuals require.
Sakai stated that Planned Parenthood was preparing to collaborate with “supporters in Congress” to “push back against these reductions” using every resource available, aiming to demonstrate that this move is not genuinely related to fiscal management or genuine worries about inefficiency, deceit, or misuse within the Medicaid program.
We understand their objective is to close health centers, and we’re aware that our clinics are working tirelessly to maintain healthcare within their local areas.
EXCLUSIVE:
A breastfeeding mother of a U.S. citizen has filed a lawsuit against Kristi Noem following an incident where she was approached by ICE agents.
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