Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced Thursday they shut down one of their establishments, making it the fifth Wisconsin-based outlet to close due to state funding cuts.
Twenty-two health centers remain in Wisconsin, serving approximately 70,000 patients every year, according to Nicole Safar, the policy director at Planned Parenthood. The centers offer reproductive health care to both men and women, annual wellness exams, breast exams, STD testing and treatment and abortion services.
In 2011, Gov. Scott Walker spearheaded a budget that cut state funding for Planned Parenthood, severing the organization from a source of income it had used for 35 years. According to Safar, the establishments in Madison are in no danger of closing. However, Safar said three other establishments in the state are at risk, though there is no guarantee they will close.
“One in five women have been a patient of Planned Parenthood at some time in their life,” Safar said.
Despite these setbacks, Safar is adamant about keeping the health centers open.
“Planned Parenthood is deeply committed to the communities where we operate health centers,” Safar said. “It really is our core mission to make sure that men and women have access to reproductive health care so they can have healthy families when they decide to have families.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison students will not be greatly affected by this cut in funding because they have University Health Care, according to Safar. However, places like UW-Eau Claire depend on Planned Parenthood for reproductive health care.
Planned Parenthood is currently utilizing other sources of income to account for the cuts.
“There is federal funding for reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin that pays a piece of [the cost]”, Safar said. “Also, like any other health service, some patients have insurance coverage, some patients are on BadgerCare and some patients just pay out of pocket.”
