Planned Parenthood Still Preparing to Open Regional Abortion Facility Within Driving Distance of Northwest Arkansas

Planned Parenthood is still hiring staff in anticipation of opening a regional abortion facility within driving distance of Northwest Arkansas this fall, according to job listings posted online.

On May 14, Planned Parenthood Great Plains announced it intends to place an abortion facility in Pittsburg, Kansas — near the state line with Missouri and Oklahoma. Even though the town is in Kansas, it is situated less than 90 minutes from the Arkansas border. If Planned Parenthood opens the facility this fall, it will be the closest abortion center to Northwest Arkansas.

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest performer of abortions. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision reversing Roe v. Wade, Arkansas began enforcing its pro-life laws prohibiting abortion except to save the life of the mother — prompting Planned Parenthood to stop aborting unborn children in Arkansas.

However, some 405 women from Arkansas had abortions in Kansas during 2022. Right now, abortion facilities in Kansas are primarily concentrated in the northeast and central areas of the state. Opening a facility in southeast Kansas — near the borders with Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri — will make it easier for Planned Parenthood to promote abortion to women from those states.

All of this underscores what we have said in the past: It’s important to prohibit abortion through legislation, but we need to work to eliminate the demand for abortion as well.

One way Arkansans can do that is by supporting pro-life organizations that empower women with real options besides abortion.

Arkansas is home to more than 60 organizations that assist pregnant women — including some 45 pregnancy resource centers that help women with unplanned pregnancies.

The State of Arkansas recently voted to award $2 million in grants to pregnancy-help organizations for the 2024-2025 budget cycle. That money is going to help a lot of women and children in the coming months.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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