Bemidji Planned Parenthood clinic to close by July

BEMIDJI — Planned Parenthood of North Central States announced it would be closing several of its clinics, including its Bemidji site.

Bemidji’s clinic is among the four in Minnesota that will close within a year. Four clinics in Iowa will also close their doors.

The Planned Parenthood affiliate says a freeze in federal funds, proposed cuts to Medicaid and cuts to funding for things like teenage pregnancy prevention are among the reasons for the closures.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood of North Central States said the Trump Administration froze more than $2.8 million in Title X federal funds for Minnesota, which was designated for birth control services, cervical cancer screenings and STD testing.

"Many of our patients would have nowhere to turn if every Planned Parenthood disappeared from their state," said Executive Director Ruth Richardson in a video statement. "Heart-wrenching and hard decisions today will ensure Planned Parenthood is here for years to come."

Of the remaining 15 Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, less than half provide abortion procedures — five of them being in Minnesota.

The organization will be laying off 66 employees and asking 37 others to relocate to other clinics.

"Like all health care providers, Planned Parenthood is working within a broken health care system. Reproductive care deserts are growing as infant and maternal mortality rates rise," the organization stated in its release.

An email from a Planned Parenthood spokesperson said most, if not all services, will be shifted out of closing health centers, including Bemidji's, by July 1.