Planned Parenthood to close Louisiana facilities

The abortion provider on Tuesday said it would cease operations in Louisiana and close its final two facilities in the state on Sept. 30. State law protects all unborn babies except in cases where the mother’s life or health may be in danger or where the baby is not expected to survive birth. Planned Parenthood still provides birth control and sexually transmitted disease testing at its clinics in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The New Orleans location also provides transgender medical interventions. The organization cited what it characterized as relentless political attacks as the reason it was shuttering the locations. Lawmakers in July stopped nonprofit organizations that offer abortions from receiving Medicaid funding, a move Planned Parenthood challenged and a judge halted. The Trump administration appealed the decision. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in June upheld a South Carolina law that stripped state Medicaid funding from the abortion provider.

Which other clinics have closed or are expected to close? Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast oversees the Louisiana facilities as well as several clinics in Houston. The organization last month said it would close two of its six Houston facilities and transfer the remaining clinics to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, according to Houston Public Media. One of the closing offices was once among the largest abortion facilities in the world until it stopped performing abortions when Texas passed pro-life laws.

Planned Parenthood last month warned that nearly two-thirds of its facilities were at risk of closing after lawmakers passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Here are a few other reports of facility closures:

• Five clinics in northern California closed last month.

• Two facilities in Ohio closed at the beginning of this month.

• Four facilities in Iowa are expected to close this year.

• Three Michigan facilities will close and two others will merge.

• Four facilities in Minnesota closed over the summer.

Dig deeper: Read my report about the Supreme Court’s ruling on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in South Carolina.