SHARE
Planned Parenthood opens OKC abortion clinic
(NonDoc Graphic)

Planned Parenthood Great Plains announced today the opening of its first dedicated OKC abortion clinic, which also marks the first time Planned Parenthood has provided abortions in the state of Oklahoma.

The new location will be located at 6112 N.W. 63rd St. in Warr Acres, according to a press release emailed Tuesday morning. The organization features three Planned Parenthood Great Plains offices in Oklahoma.

“An individual’s right to access safe, legal abortion cannot just be a right inked on paper,” said Laura McQuade, Planned Parenthood Great Plains president and CEO, in Tuesday’s press release. “Patients must have greater access to this constitutionally protected service in the state of Oklahoma and across the country. PPGP opened its new health center so that patients have one more trusted option in Oklahoma City and we will continue providing the excellent care patients have come to know and trust, in spite of some of the toughest medically unnecessary restrictions against abortion providers in the nation.”

The announcement marks the second OKC abortion clinic to open this year. The organization Trust Women opened an OKC abortion clinic on the city’s southwest side this summer.

About Planned Parenthood Great Plains

The Great Plains network of Planned Parenthood operates 12 health centers across four states: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

In June, Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma merged with the organization’s Kansas and Missouri affiliate to create the Great Plains organization.

RELATED

Planned ParenthoodOkla. agency reverses on Planned Parenthood contracts by William W. Savage III

Planned Parenthood groups were the subject of controversy this spring when the Oklahoma Health Care Authority attempted to abolish their Medicaid contracts. Ultimately, the OHCA reversed its decision.

In the past, Planned Parenthood advocates in Oklahoma have argued that their clinics do not provide abortions in the state and, thus, should not be targeted or criticized by anti-abortion politicians.

Common services offered at PPGP locations include birth control, annual exams, STD testing and treatment, transgender care, menopausal symptom management, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and abortion referral and counseling.

Patients can make appointments by visiting ppgreatplains.org or by calling 1-800-230-PLAN.

Abortion data

Since 2000, the Oklahoma State Department of Health has monitored abortion activity in the state. From 2002 to 2015, the abortion rate has declined 33.2 percent, according to the latest data available. On average, there were 5,646 abortions per year.

As outlined in the latest official report from OSDH on abortions in the state:

The abortion rate fluctuated across the 8-year reporting period, reaching a high of 9.4 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years in 2006 and a low of 5.7 abortions per 1,000 female population aged 15-44 years in 2015. The abortion rate for the full reporting interval was 8.7 abortions per 1,000 female population aged 15-44 years.