RESOURCES:
Planned Parenthood of Michigan
Planned Parenthood of Michigan Funding Attacks
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Caroline McGregor, and my guest today is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, Paula Thornton Greear. Thank you for joining me today!
Paula Thorton Greear: Thank you! Thank you so much for having me!
Caroline MacGregor: You recently announced that Planned Parenthood of Michigan will reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint and will close health centers in Jackson, I believe, Marquette and Petoskey, as well as consolidate the Ann Arbor offices into one location. When does this all take effect, and what do these closures and the consolidation of your Ann Arbor offices mean for the people who depend on your services?
Paula Thorton Greear: Yeah, thank you so much. This is a very difficult decision, and one certainly that we never wanted to be forced to have to make. Our health centers will officially close on April 30th with the last patient appointments being taken on April 25th. I tell you; this is part of our having to navigate an uncertain political and legal landscape of Trump's second presidential administration. You know, there's a saying that the past is prologue. When Trump says that he's going to do something, he will do it and attempt to do it. And he has doubled down this time. The Trump administration is really hell-bent on defunding Planned Parenthood and attacking access to sexual and reproductive health care nationwide. So, this was the reason why we had to take the painful steps to reduce our brick-and-mortar footprint. That said, I do want people to know that we are not abandoning these communities. Indeed, we will have increased appointment availability as we expand our telehealth or virtual health center, which we are expanding into evening and weekends. And, of course, we also have our asynchronous Planned Parenthood direct telehealth app. So, I really want people to know that we are not abandoning the communities.
Caroline MacGregor: Tell me a bit about the Title X family planning program. Have you yet received notice from the current presidential administration that it violates Trump's DEI executive orders?
Paula Thorton Greear: We have not yet received notification, though we anticipate that any day now--quite frankly, any second now. I believe it was last week that the Trump administration moved to freeze Title X family funds, due to alleged violations of "his DEI executive orders." So, this is dealing a devastating financial blow to health care providers like Planned Parenthood of Michigan. According to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, when Planned Parenthood of Michigan was forced out of Title X during Trump's first administration, the number of patients served by the program plummeted nearly 75% from 54,012 to just 13,472 in 2021. Now, we helped rebuild that access when we re-entered the program in 2022 under President Biden. But now, we're facing elimination of the $5.6 million we currently receive annually through Title X.
Caroline MacGregor: With this devastating blow that you're experiencing, thousands of lives are going to be impacted. How will you ensure the organization's long-term sustainability? I mean, you've obviously taken this step with the brick-and-mortar closing some locations. But in the face of increasing threats and challenges, what are your plans moving forward?
Paula Thorton Greear: Well, there are a couple of plans. We continue to ensure that we are able to provide access. You know, my goal, the goal of PPMI, is that no one in Michigan will wake up and have to ask when, where, how they can get the care that they need, and that is still our goal. And we continue to fight. We continue to fight to protect patients' rights. We continue to provide accurate sexual education. And so, it's that combination of adjusting where we need to, but continuing to fight to keep access available across the state of Michigan. You know, Michigan is a really special place. It's an awesome place! I've often been asked about, "Well, what about Prop 3 and the ballot initiative," for example? Michigan's constitutional protection for reproductive freedom is absolutely crucial, and it ensures that we can continue providing just the full spectrum of reproductive health care without state level interference. However, these constitutional protections that we enjoy in Michigan don't shield us from federal funding cuts. So, while we can legally provide abortion care in Michigan, the ability to maintain affordable access across all our services still depends heavily on programs like Title X and Medicaid, which is also threatened. So, our ballot measure in Michigan protects the right, but not necessarily the accessibility or affordability of care. And the Medicaid restructuring, that would present an additional more than $2.5 million annually in our budget. So, you can see we are working against not a perfect storm, but a perfect tsunami coming towards us.
Caroline MacGregor: I'm talking with CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, Paula Thornton Greear, about the organization's long-term sustainability in light of federal funding cuts. Given that we have more than three years ahead of us of this administration, is there any way that these funds could be replenished from other sources?
Paula Thorton Greear: You know, we have, what I like to say, are the best supporters in the country. Our donors and our supporters--they are crucial. The impact that they have been able to make is astonishing, but I think it's understood that philanthropy cannot replace the funding. So, it's another reason why we've established a patient care fund to specifically ensure patients across Michigan, particularly where we had to close health centers in those regions, can maintain access to essential health care. I mean, the loss is real, and we feel it deeply alongside our patients. The most difficult part of the restructuring that we started off talking about is knowing exactly what our presence means in those communities. We were often the only trusted space where people could receive non-judgmental care, so between our patient care fund and our patient navigators who are going to be working overtime to ensure that no one falls through the cracks during this transition. These aren't just numbers. These are people whose lives are going be negatively impacted. When I talked before about the number of people that fell through the gap during the first Trump administration, when we were forced out of Title X, that is nothing compared to what we are about to see now, given this very complex, layered assault that the Trump administration is making on Planned Parenthood and sexual and reproductive healthcare in general: cancer screenings, birth control, and preventative care. Every single dollar that is stripped away translates directly to patients who can't afford their medication: a college student without access to contraception or a patient that has to choose between reproductive health care and putting food on the table. I mean, these are very serious, dire situations that we find ourselves in.
Caroline MacGregor: Where do we stand with the 1873 Comstock Act, this 19th century anti-obscenity law, to restrict abortion pills? Where do we stand with that?
Paula Thorton Greear: Well, we take what he says that he won't do with a grain of salt. So, there is the threatened enforcement of the Comstock Act, and we're waiting to see when he's going to reignite it, if you will. This is a direct assault on reproductive and sexual health care access for our most vulnerable communities. And that's why we've been forced to make really heart-wrenching decisions to ensure our long-term sustainability. It's not just about politics. It's about creating real health care deserts in communities that have nowhere else to turn. Health disparities in this country have been widening for decades. Now, I'm afraid that health disparity gap is turning into just a canyon--a chasm--that won't be able to be closed for generations.
Caroline MacGregor: I know that Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, a federation of America, in a statement with regards to Title X, called it blackmail, saying that President Trump and Elon Musk are holding Planned Parenthood patients hostage by slashing funds from birth control providers who receive Title X grants.
Paula Thorton Greear: Without question! That's absolutely right! But let me be clear. While they're working to shut us down, we're working to ensure that, four years from now, Planned Parenthood of Michigan is still gonna be standing, regardless of how many ways they try to block access to this essential healthcare. I need for people to remember how we got here. Elections matter. It is the result of this presidential election that we find ourselves in this situation now. And we are quite literally fighting for the sustainability--the life--of Planned Parenthood and for the lives of all the people who rely on the care that we provide. Planned Parenthood of Michigan is here, whether it is through a brick-and-mortar door or through our virtual door. We are here, and we're going to keep providing care, looking for ways to sustain that accessibility and that affordability. And I really thank you for covering this topic!
Caroline MacGregor: I've been speaking with president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, Paula Thornton Greear. Thank you for joining me today!
Paula Thorton Greear: Thank you so much!
Caroline MacGregor: I'm Caroline McGregor. This is 89.1 WEMU FM Ypsilanti.
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