Guttmacher report shows women don’t need Planned Parenthood for contraception

An analysis of data published by the Guttmacher Institute reveals that Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites outnumber Planned Parenthood centers in the majority of counties which provide publicly funded contraception services nationwide. This information was published by Guttmacher in response to a request from pro-abortion Senator Patty Murray, and it comes as the Senate prepares to debate defunding Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest provider of abortions.

The data, which looked at Planned Parenthood centers (PP), Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) sites, and Title X facilities for 2015, found:

• FQHCs operated 9,636 services sites in the US.

• 5,829 FQHC’s (60 percent) offered contraceptive care to at least 10 female clients.

• 361 counties out of 3,142 counties had both a Planned Parenthood and a FQHC site.

• 580 counties had neither.

• Out of the 2,201 remaining counties, 54 had no FQHC site and 2,147 had no Planned Parenthood (table 3/page 7).

• In all, Planned Parenthood centers were located in just 415 U.S. counties while 1,719 counties had FQHC sites.

FQHC sites outnumber Planned Parenthood in counties that provide contraception care in every state except Connecticut, Minnesota and the District of Columbia (table 1/page 1). Although there were additional publicly funded sites, the table below compares PP and FQHCs providing contraception care:

Live Action News continues to document how Planned Parenthood’s services are decreasing while its abortion numbers increase. Today, the abortion corporation ends the lives of 900 preborn children every day while receiving $1.5 million in taxpayer dollars.

In contrast, FQHC sites, which outnumber Planned Parenthood centers by the thousands, provide more vital health services for women.

Given these facts, the Senate should no longer delay in defunding Planned Parenthood.