LITTLE ROCK — Planned Parenthood on Tuesday announced completion of the consolidation of its operations in four states, including Arkansas.
The Planned Parenthood operations here and in eastern Oklahoma have been merged under the banner of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, which will also head operations in Iowa and Nebraska.
Working together as one affiliate will enable Planned Parenthood to increase access to services, Jill June, president and CEO of the Des Moines, Iowa-based regional affiliate, said in announcing the merger.
Thirty-four health centers and three Education Resource Centers in the four-state region will provide expanded services, including pediatric care, male cancer screenings, HPV vaccinations, prenatal care and age-appropriate education programming, the organization said.
“No decisions on providing expanded abortion (services) have been made at this time,” said Shelby Cloke, public relations manager for the regional affiliate.
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Two centers in Arkansas, in Little Rock and Fayetteville, provide abortion services.
When the consolidation was first announced in July, June said the organization would conduct “extensive analysis” over the rest of the year to review current services and demand to determine any changes in abortion care in the state.
At the time, Arkansas Right to Life Executive Director Rose Mimms said the merger likely would increase the number of abortions performed in Arkansas.
Mimms said she was particularly concerned about expanded use of a delivery system known as “telemedicine,” in which a physician in one location can use the Internet to remotely provide a woman in another location with access to a pill containing pregnancy-ending medication, which Planned Parenthood identified as Mifepristone and Misoprostal, both approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
“That’s been their whole operation in Iowa and in Nebraska, too. It’s been very successful for them. There’s no reason why they wouldn’t do that in Arkansas,” she said Tuesday.
Cloke said Planned Parenthood does not provide abortion via telemedicine in Nebraska.
Mimms said Arkansas Right to Life would “do everything we can to educate the public,” especially conservative groups, to be on the lookout for clinics in their communities.
“They can learn more about the operation, make them more unwelcome in their communities … and warn their daughters and pregnant women,” she said.