Iowa Planned Parenthood closes, just one left in the state

Planned Parenthood will close its Iowa City clinic on July 31, leaving it with just one clinic in Iowa, part of a wave of closures across the state and the upper Midwest.

The closure comes after the state’s heartbeat law, which Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed, took effect in July 2024 following an Iowa Supreme Court ruling. The law bans most abortions after doctors can detect an unborn baby’s heartbeat, which is typically around six weeks of pregnancy.
Four Iowa clinics closed last year – in Ames, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Urbandale – leaving only one, in Des Moines.
Four Minnesota clinics also closed – in Alexandria, Apple Valley, Bemidji and Richfield – as Heartlander News previously reported, leaving Planned Parenthood North Central States with 15 clinics in the region. 

Ruth Richardson, North Central States CEO, blamed the closures on Iowa’s abortion law and federal cuts.

“We are not the cause of these conditions, but we are responsible for how we respond,” Richardson told Radio Iowa. “We will continue to adapt, continue to serve and continue to fight to ensure people can get the care they need no matter what.” 

Planned Parenthood says it will still offer virtual visits in Iowa and send in-person patients to Des Moines.

The abortion giant will cut 38 jobs, move 12 workers to other jobs and eliminate 11 unfilled positions in the new closing, KCRG reported.

Iowa pro-life leader Maggie DeWitte praised the Iowa City closure.

“We don’t need abortion in our state and so I am very happy and I feel very blessed that I live in this state because we’re just one step closer to eliminating abortion here in Iowa,” DeWitte, executive director of Pulse Life Advocates, told Radio Iowa.

Clinic closures have also hit other states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Nearly 60 Planned Parenthood clinics have closed or merged with other sites since January 2025, KFF reports. 

Heartlander News has also reported that pro-life leaders in New Mexico want to follow Iowa’s model. Iowa has passed a heartbeat law, cut off Planned Parenthood from some public funding and instead directed money to pregnancy resource centers through the More Opportunities for Maternal Support program.

The model emphasizes giving women another path besides abortion and helping mothers and families.