Planned Parenthood Keystone is set to close its Easton and Bristol, Pennsylvania, facilities at the end of March, as reported by The Morning Call. The Easton location provided pill-induced abortions, and the Bristol clinic gave abortion referrals. Planned Parenthood said the closings are part of its plan to consolidate clinics.
In December 2016, Planned Parenthood Keystone closed three other clinics, none of which committed surgical abortions. The Keystone branch now has 10 facilities remaining. Melissa Reed, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Keystone, said women will now be referred to the Allentown location.
Sal Rizzo, president of Pennsylvanians for Human Life Bethlehem Easton, applauded the closures and told Life News:
This [Easton] Planned Parenthood facility will no longer reside in the vicinity of two local high schools. Thank you to all who came out to peacefully protest and pray. Their efforts resulted in this victory.
Despite major support from former President Barack Obama and over $500 million in federal funding, Planned Parenthood’s number of non-abortion services is on the decline, while its number of abortions remains steady. Breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood are down 51.3 percent in the last five years, and pap tests dropped 64.7 percent. Prenatal care at Planned Parenthood, which is virtually nonexistent at facilities, is down 44 percent, and HPV treatments are down 37 percent.
In all, Planned Parenthood closed 27 facilities in 2016. There are now just over 600 Planned Parenthood locations in the country, compared to the over 13,000 federally qualified health centers that provide comprehensive health services for women and families. One such clinic, Neighborhood Health Centers of Lehigh Valley, is set to open a new location in Easton on April 5. The center will provide the same services as Planned Parenthood except for abortions. It will offer a sliding fee scale to meet the financial needs of patients.
