President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, which he signed into law on July 4, significantly restricts Medicaid funding. This includes a one-year ban on Medicaid funds going to organizations that provide abortion services and received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023.
This provision is forcing the Hamilton and Springfield Planned Parenthood locations to close on Aug. 1. These locations are part of the Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, a network that also includes at the much larger health centers and surgical centers in Dayton, Kettering and Cincinnati. Abortion services are provided at the surgical centers.
The Hamilton and Springfield facilities have a client base that heavily relies on Medicaid for family planning and wellness services, such as sexually transmitted disease tests, cervical cancer screening and contraceptive care. No abortion care are performed at these locations, only the surgical centers in Kettering and Cincinnati.
“No one seeking an abortion would have been coming to our Hamilton or Springfield health centers,” said Maya McKenzie, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. “It would have been people seeking out family planning or preventative health care.”
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, which is the organization for health and surgical centers in other corners of the state, has not announced any closures of its facilities.
The abortion funding ban in the federal bill was celebrated by anti-abortion groups.
“Every time a Planned Parenthood closes, lives are saved and fewer lies are told. Ohioans do not need this preborn child-killing business,” said Laura Strietmann, the executive director of Cincinnati Right to Life. “Women need love, support and true health care at one of the hundreds of other Federally Qualified Health Centers or from one of Ohio’s many free pregnancy centers. We have always shared the truth: abortion is not health care.”
Other Planned Parenthood centers are expected to be or have closed as the national Planned Parenthood organization said up to 200 clinics in 24 states could shutter locations.
“This is not something we wanted,” McKenzie said. “We fought tooth and nail to ensure we could be here for the next 100 years, but unfortunately, the federal government and the state budget have some Medicaid provisions and have forced our hands and created this incredibly difficult scenario that we’ve had to juggle our long-term sustainability against keeping some of these centers open.”
Abortions of a pregnancy up to fetal viability are legal in Ohio, and viability is based on a physician’s diagnosis, though it’s usually around 23 to 24 weeks.
Ohioans passed Issue 1 in 2023 with 57% of the vote to place a woman’s right to an abortion in the state’s constitution, though state lawmakers have passed laws placing restrictions. ACLU of Ohio have fought them, including challenging a mandated 24-hour waiting period before seeking an abortion.
Hamilton, Springfield impacts
A typical patient or client at the Hamilton or Springfield health center varies as a range of people, including men, who use their services. Planned Parenthood also caters to trans and non-binary patients and is one of the very few options in the region and state that offer gender-affirming care.
“I think in a center like Springfield or Hamilton, what you are going to see are working-class, typically already parent-aged folks,” said McKenzie. “A lot of time they are single parents of more than one child, and those folks are primarily coming to us because they are without insurance coverage or are interested in how to receive service in a more cost-effective approach.”
In fiscal year 2025, Hamilton and Springfield saw a combined 6,510 visits of health center clients. The visits do not equate to the number of people served, as clients likely have multiple visits in a year.
YWCA Hamilton Chief Executive Officer Wendy Waters-Connell called the closures in Hamilton and Springfield “a disaster.”
“This is a primary health center for women’s health, and particularly for those who cannot afford health care in any other way,” she said. “They literally save women’s lives, so it is a disaster for those who counted on this vital, vital service and cannot afford health care in any other way.”
Nicole Patch, executive director of the Pregnancy Resource Clinic of Clark County in Springfield, said they understand the Planned Parenthood closure may leave a gap in the community, but her agency can help bridge that gap in Clark County. They offer free services like pregnancy testing, limited ultrasound, prenatal vitamins, proof of pregnancy, parenting classes, fatherhood support and material assistance for families in need.
“We trust that together with other local organizations — like the Health Department, CarePortal, and the Rocking Horse Center ― and caring individuals, we can help ensure no one falls through the cracks,“ Patch said. ”We are time and time again encouraged by our community’s ability to band together in unity for the sake of our neighbors in need.”
The Pregnancy Resource Clinic isn’t impacted by the Medicaid restrictions as its services are community-funded, and care is free of charge.
The cities of Hamilton and Springfield, which are about 70 miles apart, have many similarities. Both cities are county seats with median household incomes below the statewide median, and similar poverty rates (just under 19% in Hamilton and nearly 23% in Springfield).
Finding a health care provider as affordable as a Planned Parenthood may be difficult for those in Butler County, Waters-Connell said.
“They’re going to have to adjust and have to travel further, and for those who have limited transportation, it’s going to have to be more of a burden, and it could have significant health impacts,” said Waters-Connell.
McKenzie said Planned Parenthood does offer a telehealth service via Planned Parenthood Direct, “but it’s not the same as being seen, and not all the services can rely on (video health care visits).”
McKenzie said closing Planned Parenthood centers is a “public health concern,” leading to an increase in unintended pregnancies.
“We’re already so strapped for access, and what’s going to happen down the road is that places like urgent care centers and emergency rooms are kind of going to bear the brunt of patients who have been stripped of access,” she said.
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