South Carolina Governor Targets Planned Parenthood Patients

Washington, DC -- Planned Parenthood issued the following statement in response to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster’s politically motivated order to state agencies to block women from getting preventive care at Planned Parenthood health centers. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic serves nearly 4,000 women, men, and young people each year in South Carolina. While Governor McMaster’s order does not immediately impact services at Planned Parenthood health centers in South Carolina, he has made clear that it is his priority to prevent women from accessing preventive health care at Planned Parenthood.

Statement from Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, Chief Medical Officer, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

This is not over, and we’ll leave no stone unturned to protect our patients’ access to health care. Nearly 4,000 men, women, and young people in South Carolina turn to Planned Parenthood for birth control, cancer screenings, and other preventive care each year. For many of our patients, we’re the only health care provider they see. Every person deserves the chance to lead a healthy life, no matter who you are or where you live

Statement from Jenny Black, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic:

Today’s executive order issued by Governor McMaster hurts South Carolinians in the name of politics. While he throws women under the bus to score political points, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic will continue to focus on providing the wide-range of accessible, affordable health care services that our patients, and his constituents, rely on. We will not stop fighting to protect our patients’ access to health care.

Nationwide, Planned Parenthood health centers serve an outsized role in meeting the health care needs of those who rely on federally funded health programs. More than half of Planned Parenthood's health centers across the U.S. are in rural or medically underserved areas, meaning that often without Planned Parenthood, patients would have nowhere else to turn for reproductive health care. In 57 percent of counties with a Planned Parenthood health center, Planned Parenthood serves at least half of all safety-net family planning patients. Those hurt the most would be those struggling to get by and also those who already face barriers to accessing health care — especially people of color, people with low to moderate incomes, as well as people who live in rural areas.

Not only is it dangerous to block care at Planned Parenthood -- it’s also deeply unpopular. Every poll shows that American people overwhelmingly support Planned Parenthood and strongly oppose these attacks.

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood affiliates serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.