Planned Parenthood spares lives in Iowa, Wisconsin

To better meet the needs of its customers, Planned Parenthood says it plans to close two of its 21 Iowa facilities. The nation's largest abortion provider also will close four of its 27 Wisconsin facilities.

Pro-life advocates couldn’t agree more: Closing shop is absolutely the best thing it can do for the women of Spencer and Fort Madison, Iowa, and Beaver Dam, Chippewa Falls, Johnson Creek and Shawano, Wisconsin.

“This decision is the result of a careful analysis of where our patients live and seek medical care, and whether relocating or consolidating centers could help us better meet the needs of our patients,” spokeswoman Shelby Cloke wrote in an email to the Herald-Index.

Ironically, Cloke also cited President Barack Obama’s new federal health regulations as a reason for the decision in Iowa, telling the Herald-Index the organization was making investments in efficiency models, including electronic health records, to help it prepare for the changes brought on by the Affordable Care Act.

Jenifer Bowen, executive director of Iowa Right to Life, quickly caught on to the irony.

“They supported it so strongly, and they’re feeling the crunch of it,” she told the newspaper, adding her group was delighted to hear the news—Planned Parenthood closed facilities in Storm Lake, Knoxville, and Newton last year.

According to the Herald-Index, the March 15 closures will leave the agency with 26 centers in Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas and Oklahoma—Iowa accounts for nineteen of those centers.

Wisconsin's Planned Parenthood facilities were responsible for the deaths of 4,827 babies in 2010, according to a report in CitizenLink.

Although dozens of abortion facilities remain open in Iowa and Wisconsin, every clinic that closes leads to lives saved, Bowen said.