STOPP has begun work on our annual report on the number of Planned Parenthood facilities in the United States and how many of them do medical and/or surgical abortions. The data- gathering for the report is a lengthy process. At the present time, we have completed about 40 percent of the effort and will have the remainder done by the end of this month.

2020 has been a particularly volatile year for Planned Parenthood facilities, as the organization has temporarily closed down a number of them because of local effects of the COVID pandemic. These temporary closures range from small clinics in rural areas to larger facilities in places like the Bronx in New York City. Our initial data shows that many, but not all, of these facilities have reopened.

For the last 15 years, Planned Parenthood has closed more facilities than it opened each year. Its total number of centers in the United States has gone from 872 in 2005 to 587 at the end of 2019. It is always dangerous to make predictions based on incomplete information, but it appears at this point that Planned Parenthood will continue its unbroken string of years in which it closes more of its centers than it opens. With complete data from19 states, including California, Planned Parenthood has opened facilities in nine new communities and closed in 14. 

As we review the annual data over the last three decades, one thing is perfectly clear. The closing of local Planned Parenthood centers is more a matter of local people willing to take on the challenge and do the necessary work than which political party is in power. As we face the real possibility that Joe Biden may take office in January, we call your attention to the fact that Planned Parenthood closed more facilities during the Obama years than any other time in history.

Let’s look at the data:

Carter administration (1977 – 1980): Planned Parenthood had 700 centers every year

Reagan administration (1981 – 1988): Planned Parenthood gained 150 centers

George Bush administration (1989 – 1992): Planned Parenthood gained 72 centers 

Clinton administration (1993 – 2000): Planned Parenthood lost 47 centers

George W. Bush administration (2000 – 2008): Planned Parenthood lost 31 centers

Obama administration (2009 – 2016): Planned Parenthood lost 218 centers

Trump administration (2017 to present): Planned Parenthood lost 39 centers (not counting 2020)

There are a lot of details behind these numbers, not the least of which is the American public’s ignorance about Planned Parenthood until the mid-1990s. But one thing is perfectly clear—it is the dedication and hard work of pro-life groups and individuals that results in the closure of Planned Parenthood facilities, and not who is president of the United States. Presidents come and go, but groups like American Life League, Human Life International, Pro-Life Action League, STOPP International, Christian Action Council, Life Decisions International, Life Dynamics, Students for Life, Live Action, Center for Medical Progress, and many more, bring pressure on Planned Parenthood. In addition to the leaders of those groups, authors like Elasah Drogin, Mary Senander, George Grant, Charles Donovan, and Robert Marshall released dynamic slides and books that opened people’s eyes to the true nature of Planned Parenthood.

Whatever happens in the elections, YOU can continue Planned Parenthood’s decline and save God’s children by not only staying in the fight, but being even more active.