By Jim Sedlak
Over the last few years, Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country have been adding primary care to a few of its facilities. It appears this is an effort to seem to be more like the Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide a full range of health services—but recognize that killing preborn children is not healthcare and, therefore, do not do abortions.
Although we cannot speculate, yet, on all the reasons Planned Parenthood is testing this change, knowing Planned Parenthood, we also know that it must be about money—either using the existence of these services to qualify for taxpayer money or making additional profits on these services.
The specific services at each location vary, but they are all designated by Planned Parenthood as “primary care.”
For example, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida is offering primary care services at its Sarasota facility. Planned Parenthood of Southern New England is also offering some primary care at its locations in Meriden, New London, and Waterbury in Connecticut and at its Providence (RI) facility. Planned Parenthood of Greater Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands is offering primary care at its Boise (ID) location as well as its Bellevue, Federal Way, and Lynnwood facilities in the state of Washington.
The most concerted effort is happening in California, where Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties has created a new entity—Melody Women’s Health. On its website, Melody proclaims:
We believe that young women should have access to high-quality, comprehensive care from a provider they trust. Since we are experts in young women’s reproductive health, we believe patients deserve that same level of expertise and understanding in their primary care provider. That’s why we opened Melody Women’s Health. Now you will be able to get all of the basic care you need from the people you know and trust at Planned Parenthood.
Melody currently operates at six Planned Parenthood offices in California—Anaheim, Mission Viejo, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Upland, and Westminster.
Planned Parenthood has recently run into some problems at its Boise, Idaho, facility. On September 1, 2016, Planned Parenthood announced that it was beginning limited primary care services in Boise. According to the announcement,
“Primary care will be available for high blood pressure, low thyroid, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, asthma and GERD (gastroesophageal reflux) . . . Additional services for acute conditions include sinus infections, eye infections, earaches, sore throats, mouth sores, colds, coughs, hay fever or seasonal allergies, gastrointestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and skin conditions such as eczema.”
Just 26 months later, in November 2018, Planned Parenthood announced it would no longer offer these primary services in Boise. In commenting on the change, Kara Cadwallader, vice president of medical affairs and senior medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands, told the Boise State Public Radio, “It was successful. Our patients had great reports in terms of the quality and their happiness with the service, our staff could access the care and they loved it.” But the problem was that they just didn’t have many patients. Cadwallader pointed out that most of the people they were trying serve had access to those services elsewhere.
In other words, it couldn’t make a profit, so it stopped offering the services.
This scenario in Boise gives those opposed to Planned Parenthood ideas on how to thwart its planned expansion into primary care. Make sure everyone in town knows they can get these services at other nearby facilities and that they don’t need to patronize the nation’s largest abortion chain.
Jim Sedlak is executive director of American Life League, founder of STOPP International, and host of a weekly talk show on the Radio Maria Network. He has been successfully fighting Planned Parenthood since 1985.
