Planned Parenthood Closes Iowa Abortion Clinic Because It Couldn’t Get Enough Customers

State   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   May 2, 2016   |   5:11PM   |   Dubuque, Iowa

Pro-lifers made a huge impact outside of the Dubuque, Iowa Planned Parenthood abortion facility, encouraging more than 20 mothers to choose life for their unborn babies.

Now the abortion facility is closing for good, saying it does not have enough business to keep operating, according to KWWL 7 News. The Planned Parenthood closed on Thursday after operating at that location for eight years, the report states.

“This is a victory for women and their unborn children,” Marian Boureck, executive director of the Dubuque County Right to Life, told the NBC affiliate. “We stood here every hour that this facility was open for business, to show the women that we care, they are not alone.”

Boureck said more than 20 women chose life for their unborn babies after being offered positive, life-affirming alternatives to abortion.

Planned Parenthood officials said they closed the Dubuque facility because its patient numbers were low. However, officials said they will expand hours at the Cedar Rapids abortion clinic to accommodate an “unmet demand.”

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“After assessing the shifting health care landscape, changing demographics, and the challenges of operating in areas with low patient volumes, we made the tough decision to close the Dubuque Health Center,” the abortion chain said in a statement to the news station.

Iowa Right to Life said the Dubuque facility did dangerous webcam abortions, which involve a woman being prescribed medication that induces an abortion without seeing a doctor in person.

“Webcam abortions will no longer happen in that community!” the pro-life group said in an email. “Rejoice with us – for the lives of unborn children saved!!!”

Jim Sedlak, the vice president of the American Life League, also celebrated the news. He spoke at the local pro-life group’s event in 2007 when the abortion clinic opened.

“I remember being very impressed by the dedication and zeal of the pro-lifers of Dubuque,” Sedlak said. “I told them at the time that they needed to protest outside Planned Parenthood at least once a week. They told me they would do better than that. Over the last eight years, these dedicated pro-lifers were outside Planned Parenthood every hour it was open. And now . . . it’s closed for good.”

A Bloomberg analysis published in February found that abortion facilities in the U.S. are closing at a record pace, many of them citing a lack of business.

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