In Wake of Title X Cuts, Planned Parenthood to Close Six Clinics

Because of cuts to the nation’s 41-year-old Title X family planning funding program, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota is moving forward with a plan to consolidate its clinical services.

To streamline operations, clinics in six locations will be closed effective Aug. 1: Thief River Falls, Brainerd, Red Wing, Owatonna, Albert Lea and Fairmont.

“We proudly served these communities for 40 years, and the decision to close our doors is heartbreaking,” said President and CEO Sarah Stoesz. “We know that both state and federal governments are struggling to balance their budgets, but we also know that public funding for family planning services is a cost-saving and vital service for tens of thousands of women in our state, especially in rural areas. This was a short-sighted blow to a much-needed program.”

To continue to serve the women and families of Greater Minnesota, staff will be increased and evening and weekend hours will be added to Planned Parenthood clinics in Rochester, Mankato, Moorhead, Duluth and St. Cloud. Planned Parenthood will continue to operate clinics in 20 locations across Minnesota and South Dakota.

The plan to consolidate comes on the heels of a 5.5 percent cut to Title X funding during the 2011 congressional budget debate. The cut is retroactive to September of last year, and therefore represents an 11 percent cut to Planned Parenthood’s current budget. The Title X program, signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, provides low-income women with such services as birth control, annual gynecological exams, STI testing and treatment and cervical and breast cancer screenings. In Minnesota, more than 250,000 women are in need of subsidized reproductive health care. About 53,000 of them are served at Planned Parenthood’s Title X supported clinics across Minnesota.

“These cuts were driven by ideological attacks on women’s health, not by a desire to fix the economy,” said Stoesz. “But we will never give up the fight for our patients, no matter what political and financial obstacles we face. Planned Parenthood has been a fabric of this community for more than 80 years, and we are here to stay.” 

Since 1928, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota has been the region’s leading provider and advocate for outstanding women’s and reproductive health care and education.  Planned Parenthood operates 26 clinics in Minnesota and South Dakota and an Online Health Center, providing quality and affordable services and education to nearly 64,000 women and men each year.

Visit us on the web at www.ppmns.org