Our History

We trace our origins to 1916 when the first American birth control clinic opened in Brooklyn, New York.  Our organization became incorporated in 1923 and was named the American Birth Control League and was influential in liberalizing laws against birth control throughout the 1920s and 1930s.  In 1942, the League was reorganized as Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Springfield clinic opened its doors in 1971, with our clinic in Joplin soon following.  Since then we have been committed to delivering the highest quality reproductive health care, teaching responsible and age-appropriate sexuality education and have been working diligently to protect a woman's right to choose. Together we serve 10,000 patients in Southwest Missouri annually.