‘We’re Triple-Booking’: Pregnancy Centers Expect Surge in Appointments After ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Defunded Planned Parenthood 

Pro-life pregnancy centers expect an increase in appointments after President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” defunded Planned Parenthood facilities, a center director told The Daily Signal.

Trump’s spending bill instructed the federal government to end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. As a result, women are getting turned away by abortion facilities and are instead making appointments at privately funded pro-life pregnancy centers, which support them in carrying their babies to term, at no cost to the clients.

James Harden, president and CEO of New York pregnancy center network CompassCare, said he has “absolutely” seen an increase in appointments since the bill passed.

“We built a team in the Bronx, and they’re already fully booked,” Harden told The Daily Signal. “We’re triple-booking right now.”

It’s too soon to tell whether the increase in the number of clients will continue, but in case it does, pregnancy centers need to prepare to accommodate a four- to eight-times increase in patient load, Harden said.

Last week, CompassCare’s center in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, saw a woman who had gone to Planned Parenthood for an abortion, but they had refused her Medicaid, because they would not be able to get reimbursement.

The woman first came into the Bronx CompassCare center for a pregnancy test. After a nurse verified the pregnancy, she made an appointment to go to Planned Parenthood, which told her it would charge $600 for the abortion. Her Medicaid wouldn’t cover it, so she returned to CompassCare.

“She came back and she said, ‘That must be a sign,'” Harden said.

The woman decided to keep the baby, and CompassCare is giving her free medical and community resources to support her pregnancy.

“The data shows when a government pays for abortion, abortion numbers go up,” Harden said. “And when government doesn’t pay for abortion, abortion numbers go down.”

Planned Parenthood is even sending women to pregnancy centers to get free ultrasounds, giving the centers a chance to present them with the facts about life beginning at conception, he said.

Half of abortions are paid for by Medicaid in New York state, so CompassCare centers are preparing for a significant in the number of clients turned away by Planned Parenthood centers.

“There’s not an abortionist anywhere who will provide an abortion for free,” Harden said. “But CompassCare and other pro-life medical centers provide comprehensive medical care and community resources for free. The demand is great. Women need pro-life medical centers now more than ever.”

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