While Planned Parenthood has not made a formal announcement, reports from patients were confirmed with a phone call by Greater Columbus Right to Life that the Delaware, Ohio, office of Planned Parenthood is scheduled to close at the end of September/beginning of October. The Delaware office does not perform surgical abortions, but does refer patients for abortion to Planned Parenthood abortion facilities. Last year, 149 women living in Delaware had abortions.
The news was cheered by Greater Columbus Right to Life volunteers, many of whom have regularly prayed for the clinic’s closure as individuals, with church groups, with other organizations, or as part of GCRTL’s recently organized, “Delaware County Prays for Life,” an intentional hour of prayer focused on affirming the dignity of human life and closing the Delaware abortion referral clinic. |
Planned Parenthood has built up a steady drumbeat of support by insisting that its offices are more than just abortion clinics, that they are places that provide caring, compassionate care to women in rural communities and medically underserved areas, and that any effort to remove taxpayer subsidies to the abortion giant will have an immediate detrimental effect on women’s health. For example, just last week, Planned Parenthood tweeted against efforts to eliminate the taxpayer subsidy, noting that “closing women’s health centers in rural areas blocks access to basic care (and) costs the state more money.” In the meantime, the group quietly planned to close yet another rural health center. Do not be confused– this is not the first rural health center closed in Ohio in recent years. This isn’t even the first rural health center closed in central Ohio THIS year, as the offices in Chillicothe were closed down in January. In recent years other offices to have closed include Galion, Withamsville, Oxford, and more. In fact, Planned Parenthood appears to have closed or merged 38% of its Ohio offices since 2005, most of them rural, small-town, or under-served areas. | Hypocrisy in action in this Planned Parenthood tweet from August 28, 2017 |
GCRTL executive director, Beth Vanderkooi, noted, “While it is likely that profit motivated Planned Parenthood to close the doors of the Delaware Office, without a doubt this closure – whenever it happens - can ultimately be attributed to the thousands of prayerful volunteers who have witnessed to the beauty of human life in Central Ohio. While we give thanks for these victories, we can never forget that the work is not yet done. As we are reminded in Galatians, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Greater Columbus Right to Life will hold a prayer vigil at the location once its closing date is confirmed. |
Note: The closure of Planned Parenthood was confirmed after reports from current patients and by a phone call placed to the scheduling office. That notwithstanding, it has not yet been announced or publicly affirmed by Planned Parenthood and is subject to change.