{"id":30297,"date":"2025-12-30T10:10:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:10:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30297"},"modified":"2025-12-30T10:10:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:10:48","slug":"planned-parenthoods-continue-to-shut-down-in-iowa-after-pro-life-laws-passed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/12\/planned-parenthoods-continue-to-shut-down-in-iowa-after-pro-life-laws-passed","title":{"rendered":"Planned Parenthoods Continue to Shut Down in Iowa After Pro-Life Laws Passed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Planned Parenthood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The state of Iowa has enacted its heartbeat bill, prohibiting abortion after a detectable heartbeat. Along with temporary federal funding freezes to organizations like Planned Parenthood that rely heavily on such funds for their abortion programs, the state\u2019s Planned Parenthoods have begun to feel the pinch. To date, four of Iowa\u2019s six Planned Parenthoods have shuttered their doors permanently due to a lack of funding. Iowa senator Joni Enst has vowed to vote in favor of the Protect Funding for Women\u2019s Health Care Act, which would permanently block federal funding from Planned Parenthood. \u201cI am committed to defending the most vulnerable among us. That\u2019s why I will always stand up to protect taxpayer dollars from funding any organization that takes the life of an unborn child. I\u2019m glad the Trump administration is working to end the left\u2019s radical\u00a0abortion-on-demand agenda,\u201d Ernst said in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To fill the gap, Christian pregnancy centers such as Obria Medical Clinic have sprung up in Iowa to support pregnant women. Centers like Obria offer free pregnancy tests and counseling, as well as material support for women facing unexpected pregnancies. Such centers have also expanded their medical offerings. To date, about half of the towns where a Planned Parenthood has shut down now have a pregnancy center. The Obria network has 16 locations across five states. Its Ames, Iowa location where a Planned Parenthood once operated, accepts insurance and has a two licensed nurse practitioners. “This is the moment for pregnancy centers to announce themselves to the world. There is an increasing awareness that Planned Parenthood is struggling, and we have an opportunity to be what they always promised to be, but really never were — a true social safety net,\u201d said John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, a national anti-abortion group.<\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood has pushed back, framing pregnancy centers like Obria as unlicensed facilities that prey on women in need. \u201cAny time you are providing medical care based in a religious ideology, you are engaging in coercion and paternalism,” said Sarah Traxler, an OB-GYN and the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood North Central States. Obria has seen the amount of patients it takes in nearly double since Planned Parenthoods began closing their doors.<\/p>\n

While organizations like Obria hope to encourage women away from abortion, challenges still remain. Pro-life advocacy group American Life League released its\u00a02025 Planned Parenthood Facilities Report<\/a>, showing that the number of Planned Parenthoods in the US had dropped to 509. For the last two decades, other than in the year 2023, the number of Planned Parenthoods has steadily decreased. However, in 2023-2024, Planned Parenthood reported<\/a> it conducted a record high of 402,230 abortions. Women in states like Iowa with restrictive abortion laws often turn to the internet and virtual appointments to seek abortion pills from states where abortion is not so restricted. \u201cPlanned Parenthood is leveraging the Internet to skirt state abortion laws. Even in states where abortion pills are restricted, women can book virtual appointments and receive abortion drugs in the mail. This is not only unethical, it\u2019s illegal,\u201d said American Life League National Director Katie Brown Xavios. Maggie DeWitte, executive director of Pulse Life Advocates, said she hopes pregnancy care centers will continue to offer women a better way. \u201cWe don\u2019t believe abortion is health care,\u201d she said, adding the pregnancy resource centers \u201care providing all of the same services Planned Parenthood provides without the devastating service of abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The state of Iowa has enacted its heartbeat bill, prohibiting abortion after a detectable heartbeat. Along with temporary federal funding freezes to organizations like Planned Parenthood that rely heavily on such funds for their abortion programs, the state\u2019s Planned Parenthoods have begun to feel the pinch. To date, four of Iowa\u2019s six Planned Parenthoods have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPlanned Parenthoods Continue to Shut Down in Iowa After Pro-Life Laws Passed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As Iowa\u2019s heartbeat law takes effect, pregnancy centers expand while Planned Parenthood closures spark debate over care, faith, and life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/12\/planned-parenthoods-continue-to-shut-down-in-iowa-after-pro-life-laws-passed\" 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