Three Planned Parenthood health centers in Michigan have permanently closed — two in metro Detroit and one in Lansing — leaving thousands of patients scrambling for care.
The closures were announced Thursday and took effect immediately. Planned Parenthood of Michigan cited federal funding cuts and lost reimbursements as the driving force behind the decision.
Patients directed to Detroit, Ferndale centers
In a written statement, Dr. Kate Starr, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said continuity of care remains the organization’s top concern.
“Continuity of care for all our patients is our highest priority. We are directly contacting affected patients and helping identify continued care based on the services they need,” Starr said. “Livonia and Warren patients have PPMI health centers in Detroit and Ferndale within approximately 20 miles.”
Starr added that many services previously available in Lansing can be accessed through Planned Parenthood’s Virtual Health Center, which already serves more than 10,000 patients each year.
“Access is defined by whether patients can get an appointment when they need one, not simply the number of buildings we operate,” Starr said. “Our focus is on building a network that is sustainable and resilient.”
‘Who deserves health care?’
Not everyone sees the transition as seamless. Jex Blackmore, a founding member of the Hydra Mutual Aid Fund — a nonprofit that supports abortion access in Michigan — says the closures are part of a troubling trend.
“This is a consistent pattern, and I don’t think we see any sign of it stopping,” Blackmore said.
Blackmore also pushed back on the common misconception that Planned Parenthood clinics exist solely for abortion services.
“We’re talking about preventative screenings, access to contraception, those critical types of fundamental health care,” Blackmore said.
Blackmore says the closures raise a deeper question about equity in health care access.
“Really this is the fundamental question of who deserves health care and who are we okay to forget,” Blackmore said. “Fundamentally everybody deserves comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care regardless of where they live and how much money they have.”
Community advocates sound alarm
Danielle Atkinson, executive director of the Mothering Justice Action Fund, connected the closures directly to federal policy decisions.
“Once again our communities face the brunt of the decisions of an Administration more focused on tax cuts for billionaires than on the health and safety of our mamas and caregivers,” Atkinson said. “Nearly 60,000 women in Michigan rely on reproductive health services provided by Planned Parenthood that they may otherwise not be able to afford.”
Atkinson said women’s health has become a political instrument and vowed the organization would continue fighting for protections.
“Women’s health is often a political tool for extreme policies. Mothering Justice Action Fund will continue to fight for policies that protect the lives, health, and dignity of mothers and caregivers, and ensure our providers are protected from politicians,” Atkinson said. “That’s what Michigan voted for when we passed Proposal 2.”
A different perspective
Not everyone agrees the closures represent a crisis. Amber Roseboom, president of Right to Life Michigan, argued that reproductive health services remain widely available across the state.
“The quote-unquote services that they reference are available and provided by every major health system in the state of Michigan. There is no shortage. If Planned Parenthood was providing a high level of care they wouldn’t be closing,” Roseboom said.
Employees also impacted
The closures don’t only affect patients. Planned Parenthood says it is working with displaced employees to identify other available openings within the organization.