Planned Parenthood closes Louisiana clinics after 40 years due to
financial and political pressure
[October 01, 2025]
By SARA CLINE
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Planned Parenthood on Tuesday shuttered its two
clinics in Louisiana over what the organization said were mounting
financial and political challenges that made operating in the state no
longer possible after more than 40 years.
The closures make Louisiana the most populous of just four states with
no Planned Parenthood locations.
The exit underlines the pressures on Planned Parenthood as it warns of
wider closures nationwide in the face of Medicaid funding cuts in
President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill. The organization is also
halting advocacy work in Louisiana, where the state's Republican leaders
have cheered on the closures.
The closures were “not the result of a lack of need” but rather the
outcome of “relentless political assaults that have made it impossible
for us to continue operating sustainably in Louisiana," said Melaney
Linton, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.
Supporters have said the closures will have a detrimental impact on
Louisiana, where Planned Parenthood has never been licensed to perform
abortions in the state but did provide other medical care services to
nearly 11,000 patients last year at its Baton Rouge and New Orleans
clinics.
Advocates and medical professionals fear that the organization’s
departure will further exacerbate reproductive health care in a state
that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows already has
one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. In addition,
a March report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office noted the
state’s significant OB-GYN shortage and health care deserts.
Planned Parenthood warns of more closures
Trump’s spending and tax plan instructs the federal government to end
Medicaid payments for one year to certain abortion providers. While the
organization is seeking to have its funding restored through the courts,
Planned Parenthood officials have warned that around one-third of
roughly 600 clinics could be forced to close.
Earlier this year, five clinics in California and eight in Iowa and
Minnesota shut their doors. In the past week, the Wisconsin affiliate
announced that it would stop providing abortion and the Arizona
affiliate said it would halt Medicaid-funded services.
Louisiana joins Wyoming, North Dakota and Mississippi as states where
the organization is absent.
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Members of Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom and
supporters arrive at Planned Parenthood on the day they are closing,
to deliver cards and flowers to the organization, in New Orleans,
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
 “This is a win for babies, a win for
mothers, and a win for LIFE!” Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry
posted on social media Tuesday.
High numbers of Medicaid patients
Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of services, including
cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing and
treatment. Federal Medicaid money was already not paying for
abortion, but affiliates relied on Medicaid to stay afloat.
In Louisiana, a state with one of the nation's highest poverty
rates, 60% of patients at Planned Parenthood clinics used Medicaid.
Last year, the clinics in Louisiana provided nearly 30,000 tests for
sexually transmitted infections, 14,400 visits for birth control,
1,800 cancer screenings and 655 ultrasounds.
Nearly a decade ago, Jordyn Martin said she turned to Planned
Parenthood when she couldn't afford medical services anywhere else.
While at the clinic, a doctor offered Martin a free HIV test. A week
later, she was diagnosed with the virus.
“Planned Parenthood saved my life,” said Martin, who went on to
volunteer for the organization.
Connecting patients with new providers
Outside of the New Orleans Planned Parenthood clinic Tuesday,
several people gathered and brought thank-you notes to the
organization that has spent four decades in Louisiana. Inside the
building, up until close, staff worked to connect patients with
alternative health care providers.
Starting Wednesday, calls to Planned Parenthood numbers in Louisiana
will be transferred to the nearest location in Texas or Arkansas.
Michelle Erenberg, the head of a New Orleans-based abortion rights
group named LIFT, said people have been contacting her for help to
find new clinics. She said it was important to connect people with
providers but worries about the strain it will put on clinics that
are already short-staffed.
“Whether patients are going to be able to get appointments quickly,
or access all of the services that Planned Parenthood provided, is
unknown at this point," she said.
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