Planned Parenthood's Prenatal Services

Planned Parenthood insists that they're not just about abortions. They boldly claim, among other things, that they offer prenatal care.

Planned Parenthood President Cecil Richards, speaking in 2011, said, "Prenatal care. Those are the kinds of services that folks depend upon Planned Parenthood for.

Lori Lamerand, the Cheif Executive Officer of Planned Parenthood Michigan also said in 2011, "Prenatal care! What is what we want to focus on. That is what is so vital.

So folks count on Planned Parenthood for prenatal care. Planned Parenthood wants to focus on prenatal care. This would lead one to believe that one could call up a Planned Parenthood and set up a prenatal care appointment, right?

So Life Action did just that: They called Planned Parenthood facilities all over the country, trying to schedule appointments for prenatal care. Here are a sample of the responsess they got:

Tempe, AZ:
"Planned Parenthood offers abortions, so they don't offer prenatal care."

Athens, OH:
"Unfortunately, no, we wouldn't provide any type of prenatal services here at Planned Parenthood."

Fort Collins, CO:
"We're not a prenatal care provider."

Albany, NY:
"No Planned Parenthood does prenatal care, hon."

Farmington, NM:
"We don't offer prenatal care at PP. We specialize in abortions."

Cornell, NY:
"We tell you you're pregnant, and then we offer at PP to do the abortions. OK? So we don't do any prenatal services here."

Merrillville, IN:
"No, we don't do prenatal services. I mean, It's called Planned Parenthood, I know it's kind of deceiving."

Fayettevillle, AR:
"We only offer family planning services and abortion services."

Fairbanks, AK:
"Not at all at Planned Parenthood."

Santa Fe, NM:
"No, see, we don't see pregnant women as a way of giving prenatal care."

Dallas, TX:
"We only offer termination services."

Bend, OR:
"We actually don't offer prenatal services. We're not licensed to do so in Oregon or Washington."

The call to the Virginia Beach, VA office is particularly telling. The on-hold message says: "Did you know that PP can take care of all your reproductive health needs? Whether it's an annual exam, pregnancy testing and counseling, prenatal care, we're here for you with high-quality, low-cost services." But when the employee answers the phone and the caller asks for prenatal care, the employee responds, "No, we don't, not at the moment... Neither our Hampton nor our Richmond office does."

If they don't actually provide prenatal serices, surely they can at least refer for those services, right?

When the caller asked the Council Bluffs, IA "Is there any other clinic you can refer me to?" the answer was less than helpful: "I don't know of anything. I would look around on the internet."

In all, Live Action called 97 Planned Parenthood offices across the country. Only five actually offered prenatal care.

I'm still waiting for Planned Parenthood's supporters to get tired of being lied to.