This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/good-news-for-life/
2025 | Week of September 29 | Radio Transcript #1638
Last week brought a significant victory for the pro-life movement in Wisconsin when Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that it will pause all abortions in response to recent federal defunding.
In July, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful” budget bill. One provision in the bill cuts off Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. However, later in July, a federal judge temporarily blocked the provision. But just a few weeks ago, an appeals court lifted the block, and the defunding measures went back into effect.
In Wisconsin, sixty percent of Planned Parenthood’s clients are covered by Medicaid.[1] Although the Hyde Amendment has prohibited the direct use of federal funding for abortions for decades, the use of Medicaid for other services indirectly funds Planned Parenthood’s abortion agenda. Each year, Planned Parenthood performs over 400,000 abortions nationally–over a thousand every day. Abortion giants like Planned Parenthood should never profit from taxpayer dollars.
As expected, the defunding measures met with opposition from Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion supporters. Planned Parenthood announced, quote, “Nearly 200 health centers in 24 states are at risk of closing, and an overwhelming majority of the Planned Parenthood health centers that may close provide abortion care.”[2] End quote. In addition, Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion supporters have claimed that defunding will not only limit access to abortion but also to other forms of women’s health care. Their argument is simply untrue.
Tessa Cox, pro-life advocate and senior research associate at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, explains, quote, “For years, Planned Parenthood received hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding despite abhorrent stories of poor care and its focus on abortion. Now, with tax dollars being redirected at the state and federal levels, abortion advocates insist that Planned Parenthood is irreplaceable. Women deserve to know they have health care options that extend beyond a group dedicated to ending unborn life.”[3] End quote.
While Planned Parenthood presents itself as a caring, health-seeking organization that provides vital pregnancy care, the facts speak otherwise. Prenatal care, miscarriage care, and adoption referrals together account for just three percent of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy-related services nationally. Ninety-seven percent of Planned Parenthood’s so-called “pregnancy resolution services” are abortions. For every 187 abortions performed, Planned Parenthood makes only one adoption referral.
And while pro-abortion advocates claim that Planned Parenthood is an indispensable provider of women’s care, the numbers tell the truth. For every Planned Parenthood facility in the United States, we have an estimated fifteen community-based health clinics that offer free or reduced-cost health care for women,[4] and more than four pregnancy care centers many of which provide ultrasounds, medical care, material items, and counseling services at little to no cost.[5] The fact of the matter is that women have many options for quality health care outside of Planned Parenthood.
Here in Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood has been defunded from state funds since 2011. Since then, the number of Planned Parenthoods in Wisconsin has dropped from twenty-seven to twenty-two. And, in an unexpected bit of recent good news, a Planned Parenthood facility in Delavan, Wisconsin, permanently closed its doors on July 31.
While this center did not offer abortions, we can be quite confident that it referred women for abortions to one of the abortion-providing facilities in Madison, Milwaukee, or Sheboygan. Additionally, it’s highly likely this facility gave minors contraception and encouraged gender-confused teens to take steps to transition.
In addition to this good news, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin says it will be halting all abortions starting October first. Although we do not know how long this pause will last, we can be thankful for every life that will be saved while it does.
Planned Parenthood preys on the vulnerability of women in crisis. When Planned Parenthood isn’t the first option available, these mothers have a higher likelihood of looking for and receiving support from pregnancy help centers that promote life rather than abortion.
The fight to end the murder of the innocent unborn is far from over, but we can rejoice in the good news of the defunding and that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s abortions will soon be on pause; and we pray that many of Planned Parenthood’s centers will soon join Delavan by closing their doors for good.
For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling reminding you that God, through the prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Haylee Lawver