Planned Parenthood’s affiliate in Boise, Idaho, has announced it is ending its primary healthcare services but will continue to perform abortions.
Kara Cadwallader, vice president of medical affairs and senior medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, said basic healthcare services would be discontinued because of the lack of patients asking for these services, reported Boise State Public Radio.
Cadwallader said people had access to basic healthcare services elsewhere.
In fact, federally qualified community health centers– which do not provide abortions – provide more comprehensive health care services than those offered by Planned Parenthood. These health centers outnumber Planned Parenthood clinics 20 to 1.
In September 2016, Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands announced “primary care services” would be offered at a number of its affiliates, including its facility in Boise.
The abortion vendor announced services for high blood pressure, low thyroid, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, asthma and GERD (gastroesophageal reflux) would be available at these facilities, as well as treatment for sinus infections, coughs, and colds.
“People tend to have preconceived notions about Planned Parenthood, so we are pleased to bring these services to our health centers to complement the quality reproductive and sexual health care we already provide,” Chris Charbonneau, CEO of the Planned Parenthood affiliate said at the time. “With these new service offerings, we are able to offer more comprehensive care to the women and men who rely on us.”
However, a 2017 study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research arm of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, found Planned Parenthood depends primarily on its abortion-centered business model – and is not a significant provider of medical care in the United States, despite its self-promotion as an “irreplaceable” and “life-saving” healthcare provider, as its advocates often profess.
The report observed that Planned Parenthood provides less than 1.4 percent of the nation’s HIV tests and less than one percent of pap tests. Additionally, in the last five years, service-to-client ratios for breast exams and pap tests have declined by 37 percent.
“There is little or no demonstrable capability for definitive diagnosis or a range of treatments for any disease or condition at Planned Parenthood centers,” the CLI study’s authors wrote. “With the exception of abortion, Planned Parenthood does not provide any service that is not easily available from alternative providers.”
Planned Parenthood’s own annual report shows most of its real healthcare services have been in decline as the organization has made its priority to become a political lobbying powerhouse.
The number of prenatal services during 2016-2017 dropped to 7,762 – a 17 percent decline from the 9,419 performed during 2015-2016. In 2014-2015, Planned Parenthood claimed 17,419 prenatal services.
“Planned Parenthood promotes itself as an indispensable health care provider and community asset, while downplaying its role as the nation’s largest abortion vendor,” the CLI authors observed. “This fiction is essential to justifying the half billion dollars in annual taxpayer funding they receive, but their own data paint an entirely different picture.”
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