A law that prevents state or federal funding for organizations or facilities that perform abortions won’t have much affect on patients at New Albany’s Planned Parenthood Health Clinic, unless they’re Medicaid patients.
The bill was signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels on May 10. Betty Cockrum, president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said the organization will begin hearings for an injunction against the law June 6 with a federal judge.
In New Albany, Planned Parenthood’s Health Clinic doesn’t perform abortions. Four of the organization’s 28 offices across the state actually offer medication or surgical abortions and the closest office in Indiana is in Bloomington, about 87 miles away from New Albany.
The law, aimed at taking any federal or state funding away from abortions, may have effects on women who aren’t seeking abortions at all.
Medicaid Patients
Cockrum said whether New Albany’s location will continue to take Medicaid patients depends on the ruling after the hearings on the injunction begin.
“If we are not successful and we do not get re-established as a Medicaid provider, New Albany would not be able to see those patients as Medicaid patients,” Cockrum said.
Cockrum said statewide, the law affects about 9,300 Medicaid patients at the organization’s 28 offices.
But she said the New Albany office only sees about 71 Medicaid patients, which makes up about 2 percent of the total patients who use that office.
Ed Clere, Indiana State Representative for District 72, voted in favor of the bill when it came to the house. He said there are plenty of other Medicaid providers available in the area that the New Albany Planned Parenthood office serves.
“I think we should be more concerned with making sure women are aware of and have access to those providers than continuing to focus on a single provider,” Clere said. “From a funding standpoint, I wouldn’t be surprised if Planned Parenthood realizes a net gain. I’m sure they’re exploiting this for fundraising purposes.”
Cockrum said after House Bill 1210 was signed into law, many of Planned Parenthood’s donors have been giving more money to them.
With those gifts, she said they’ve been able to temporarily extend services to Medicaid patients.
But she said political leadership in the state have access to reproductive services, including pap smears, cancer and sexually transmitted disease screenings and pregnancy tests.
Cockrum said with about 800 other Medicaid providers in the state, those women should be able to find those services available to them.
She said one of the biggest downfalls to some of those locations, though, is that women would likely be put on a waitlist to see a doctor.
“When you’re dealing with pap tests and birth control, that’s probably not the best option for those women,” Cockrum said.
Marcus Barlow, director of communications for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said he thinks PPIN’s concerns of losing Medicaid coverage are overblown.
He said the concern of women being unable to find other Medicaid options is “cynical” on the part of PPIN.
“You’d be operating under the assumption that people are incapable of finding any family planning services other than Planned Parenthood,” Barlow said. “You’re making assumptions about individuals’ choices that none of us are qualified to make.”
He said Medicaid patients are largely used to changes in their providers.
“We’re confident there is enough access out there,” Barlow said. “Our Medicaid clients are used to providers changing all the time, this isn’t something new to a Medicaid client.”
Abortion
Ed Clere said HB 1210 wasn’t aimed at women’s health care in general, but Planned Parenthood has a reputation that precedes it.
He said though he knew New Albany’s Planned Parenthood doesn’t perform medication or surgical abortions, he knows they provide referrals for them.
“I wouldn’t say that just because the New Albany location doesn’t provide abortions doesn’t mean it’s still not in the abortion business,” Clere said. “Even though there’s no question Planned Parenthood provides women’s health services, it’s primarily known as a provider of abortion.”
Cockrum said though Clere was aware the Planned Parenthood location in his district didn’t provide abortions, she wasn’t sure other leaders in the state knew if their local offices did or not.
“My guess is most of them don’t know,” Cockrum said. “What they know is that they don’t think abortion is OK and they feel a need to pass laws to make it more dangerous, then pass laws that will lead to more unintended pregnancies and abortions.”
Cockrum said she’s afraid defunding Planned Parenthood will actually raise the state’s rates of teen pregnancies and abortion.
“We have 38 teenagers getting pregnant every day [in Indiana], and we’d like that number to be closer to zero,” Cockrum said.
The Planned Parenthood offices in Southern Indiana are fewer than in Central and Northern Indiana. Four locations are in the Southern part of the state: New Albany, Scottsburg, Evansville and Seymour.
Clere said he thought if there was more need for those services in this area, there would be more offices in Southern Indiana.
“If it’s necessary for women to receive health care, why doesn’t Planned Parenthood have a clinic in Clarksville or Jeffersonville, or between here and Evansville?” Clere said.
He said though women should be made more aware of the health care options to them nearby, he didn’t think writing a law to that effect was needed.
“I think a lot of it is making them known in communities and neighborhoods where there’s a lack of access to services,” Clere said. “The structure is already in place for Medicaid to provide women’s health services. Just like defunding Planned Parenthood wasn’t the original purpose of HB 1210, it was simply aimed at reducing the number of abortions in Indiana.”
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