Planned Parenthood CEO Says Defunding Would Mean Clinic Closures, Loss of Health Care Access For Thousands in CT

by Karla Ciaglo CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT — The Republican taxing and spending proposal dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in Washington is effectively a backdoor abortion ban, according to Amanda Skinner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.

Expected to be voted on in the Senate this week, the bill defunds Planned Parenthood, which Skinner called a direct attack on reproductive health care that would trigger widespread clinic closures and a public health crisis.

According to Skinner, who spoke at a press briefing with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, Monday, the bill would block millions of Americans from accessing care, including nearly 51,000 patients served annually by Planned Parenthood’s 14 health centers across Connecticut. More than 23,000 of those patients rely on Medicaid and would be blocked from using their insurance at Planned Parenthood centers if the bill passes.

“These are patients who already face extraordinary barriers to care,” Skinner said. “And they will have even more obstacles to overcome.”

Blumenthal, who called the bill “an ugly betrayal,” said it would slash domestic support for health care, education, and other essential services in order to fund massive tax cuts for the wealthy, while cutting off Medicaid access for up to 16 million Americans.

“This administration has launched an assault on women unlike any in the history of the United States,” Blumenthal said. “The defunding of Planned Parenthood that results from these Medicaid cuts and other steps will cause 200 clinics to close — many of them in states where abortion is still legal.”

He cautioned that the bill would force patients to delay care or turn to overcrowded, expensive emergency rooms. “Taxpayers will foot the bill,” he said.

Skinner estimated the cost of having patients turn to emergency rooms rather than clinics would more than offset any potential savings from defunding.

“So let’s call it what it is: it’s a backdoor abortion ban,” she said.

The press conference came the day before the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade and triggered a wave of abortion restrictions nationwide.

Skinner said Planned Parenthood services extend far beyond abortion.

“Only 4% of services provided by Planned Parenthood involve abortion care,” she said. “The rest are preventive: wellness care, STI treatment, birth control, cancer screenings. Defunding Planned Parenthood means that cancers will go undetected, STIs will go untreated, and access to essential, life-saving health care will be at risk.”