Planned Parenthood clinics across the country are grappling with complaints of declining healthcare quality, staff dissatisfaction, and severe financial strain, according to a New York Times investigation. While the organization is widely known for its role in abortion services, it also provides essential healthcare to millions of Americans with few alternatives. Now, funding shortfalls are jeopardizing those services.
A review by The Times found that Planned Parenthood’s network has been in decline for decades, hampered by financial instability and political headwinds. As national leaders focused on defending abortion rights, clinics struggled to secure sustainable funding for broader healthcare services.
The impact has been stark: Patient care has diminished, staff report worsening conditions, and the organization’s footprint has shrunk. In the 1990s, Planned Parenthood served five million patients across 900 clinics. Today, that number has dropped to 2.1 million patients at 600 clinics, with staff citing chronic understaffing, high turnover, low wages, inadequate training, and aging facilities as major concerns.
Key Takeaways from the Investigation
1. Planned Parenthood May Need Structural Reform
Many people don’t realize that Planned Parenthood operates as two separate entities: The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), which handles legal, political, and advocacy efforts, and 49 independent affiliates, which run the actual clinics. While the national office champions abortion rights in courtrooms and legislatures, the affiliates struggle to fund day-to-day healthcare operations.
For years, leaders prioritized legal and political battles over direct clinic support, arguing that protecting abortion rights was essential for keeping the organization functional. However, clinics have suffered as a result, leaving them financially fragile and increasingly strained.
2. Widespread Financial Struggles
Funding challenges vary by state, with affiliates in liberal regions like New York and California faring better than those in states with strong anti-abortion laws. However, rising healthcare costs and the lingering financial impact of the pandemic have affected all clinics.
Even in states where abortion remains legal, budget deficits are forcing tough decisions. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, which provides abortion services up to 24 weeks, announced budget cuts that will effectively impose a 20-week limit. Planned Parenthood of Northern California ended its prenatal care program last year, cutting off services for 200–250 low-income women each month. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England projects an $8 million deficit over the next three years.
3. Patients Are Feeling the Impact
Reports suggest that declining resources have led to rushed and error-prone patient care. Patients and employees describe clinics running like “conveyor belts,” where limited time and staff have resulted in serious mistakes, including botched IUD placements, misidentified procedures, and failure to properly document test results.
Legal filings and complaints detail cases where Planned Parenthood clinics allegedly:
- Incorrectly implanted a birth control device, causing nerve damage
- Inserted an IUD in a patient who was four months pregnant
- Failed to upload STI test results, leading some patients to believe they were negative when they were not
4. Employees Are Overworked and Organizing
Planned Parenthood management has pushed staff to increase patient loads in an effort to offset financial shortfalls, with some being asked to see more than four patients per hour. This shift aligns with a broader trend in healthcare that reduces primary care visits to just 10–15 minutes—an approach widely criticized by both patients and providers.
For Planned Parenthood staff, the problem is particularly acute, as many patients face literacy and language barriers, housing insecurity, abuse, or poverty. Rushed appointments, employees say, prevent them from delivering the care and support these patients need.
Frustrated with working conditions and increasing demands, Planned Parenthood employees have begun unionizing to push back against policies they argue undermine the organization’s mission.