No. Planned Parenthood is not a large provider for the 158 million women serving less than 1.4 percent. Further, Planned Parenthood is not the only place where a woman can receive or purchase contraception.

In fact, due to the ACA, fewer women will rely on Planned Parenthood since a majority of women now receive free contraception through their healthcare plans. Almost 90 percent of Americans receive insurance through their employee, Medicaid, Medicare or Military — plans that all require contraception be provide with no cost sharing.

For those who do not have health insurance, Community Health Centers and Title X clinics offer all of these services free of charge.

Planned Parenthood reported 10 million provided services, the number of actual patients was about 2.7 million. Therefore, when compared to the number of actual patients, that 3 percent number is actually more like 12 percent or a little more than 1 in 10 patients, which is a much more sizeable proportion.

In a recent New York Post op-ed, National Review editor Rich Lowry wrote a series of analogies to argue that the 3percent figure “is crafted to
obscure the reality of Planned Parenthood’s business.

Even left-leaning Slate magazine called this the “most meaningless abortion statistic ever.”

For a more in-depth look at Planned Parenthood’s 3 percent number, click here and here.

Every year, Community Health Centers serve more than 23 million patients at more than 9,000 locations across the country. The Affordable Care Act provided $11 billion to the states to prepare for an influx of an additional 20 million patients, and 700 Community Health Centers have opened in the past five years. Additional funding has been provided to continue the expansion of Community Health Centers to reach communities in need.

Furthermore, when one adds other health care clinics, there are 13,540 clinics that provide comprehensive health care for women

The theory that Planned Parenthood actually reduces abortions because it distributes contraception, sexual education, and some family planning is being pushed by many pro‐choice advocates, but there are mixed reviews on this claim. First, the fact that it is the largest abortion provider in the nation and its market share is increasing should cause some initial scrutiny of incentive to reduce demand.

Second, Planned Parenthood opposes policies, such as waiting periods, mandated parental involvement, and limitations on publicly funded abortions that have proven to reduce abortion. States with reasonable restrictions tend to have lower abortion rates. By contrast, New York, which has unlimited taxpayer funds for abortion and no restrictions, has the highest abortion rate in the nation. In fact, only 12 percent of New York women do not have an abortion clinic in their county.

Third, the scope of Planned Parenthood’s outreach has been overstated. With under 700 facilities and fewer than 10 clinics in 31 states, it serves approximately 2.7 million people, or less than 1.4 percent of US women.

While Planned Parenthood has a powerful lobby, the impact on comprehensive health care is limited.