Planned Parenthood's Appleton clinic will remain closed

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin officials say they won't reopen its clinic in Appleton, one of three in the state, because they can't meet sufficient security standards.

The clinic suspended operations last year. Planned Parenthood officials said Monday that they reviewed security in the wake of an attack on a Colorado Springs clinic and decided they could not meet security standards.

They say the closure is a loss for women in the northern and central parts of the state.

Planned Parenthood will still offer abortion services at clinics in Madison and Milwaukee.

Statements on closing of Appleton Clinic:

From Wisconsin Right to Life:

“After temporarily closing their doors, Planned Parenthood’s Appleton abortion facility is now officially closed,” state Heather Weininger, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “We are absolutely thrilled that unborn children will no longer lose their lives at this abortion facility.”

The Appleton Planned Parenthood abortion facility performed 583 abortions in 2014. In October 2015 they announced they were temporarily closing their doors since they could not find an abortionist to continue their deadly practice.

“As more and more women choose life every year in the state of Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood’s profit margin suffers,” continued Weininger. “Ultimately, that is why Planned Parenthood of Appleton’s abortion facility is closing, and for that reason, we celebrate.”

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Statement from Teri Huyck, CEO Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI):

“At Planned Parenthood, our compassionate staff works every day to meet our commitment to safe, high quality health care, no matter what. Sometimes, tragic circumstances interfere with this resolve. Last November, the Planned Parenthood health center in Colorado Springs was the target of a violent attack. This unfortunate tragedy took place a month following what was intended to be a temporary suspension of services at the Appleton North Planned Parenthood facility located at 3800 N. Gillett Street to address a staffing shortage.

“In the months following the Colorado Springs tragedy, we have conducted a thorough security review that included staff trainings to re-enforce our strong security measures. Planned Parenthood facilities have strong security measures and highly trained staff to ensure a safe, supportive, welcoming environment for all people to get the high-quality health care they need.

“Following our extensive review, however, we concluded that our Appleton North facility cannot meet the stringent security standards we have in a post-Colorado Springs environment. As a result, we made the difficult decision not to reopen the Appleton North facility as originally planned.

“While this decision is extremely disappointing and difficult to make, we believe our staff and patients deserve the best health care environment. We remain committed to finding other opportunities to enhance abortion access. We also call on elected officials and community leaders to create a dialogue that prioritizes women’s health and stop the hateful rhetoric and smear campaigns against abortion providers that breed acts of violence.

“Since the beginning of the service interruption at Appleton North, PPWI worked to minimize the impact on our patients. Patients who would have sought abortion services at our Appleton location will be scheduled at one of our two remaining health centers that provide abortion in Milwaukee and Madison for high quality, compassionate care.

“With only three health care facilities remaining in the state of Wisconsin that provide abortion services, prominent leaders in the health care community including Dr. Kathy Hartke, Chair of the Wisconsin Section of American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (WI-ACOG) agree that all of us have a responsibility to work collaboratively to enhance women’s access to this essential health care. During a call with the media to discuss this service change, Dr. Hartke said, ‘Enhancing women’s access to safe, essential reproductive care needs to be a priority and is critical to maximizing women’s health and safety. The recent political rhetoric has created a dangerous environment for women’s health. If we truly value women’s health and wellbeing, elected leaders would work to improve health care access and leave personal health care decisions to a woman, her doctor and her faith.’

“For 80 years, Planned Parenthood has been trusted by women and families during the most intimate moments of their lives, and today is no different. Through our health centers across the state we look forward to building on this tradition of trusted, high quality service to our patients to keep them safe, healthy and strong.”