ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners voted to send $500,000 in local taxpayer funds to Planned Parenthood of Michigan.

Paula Thornton Greear, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, said the investment “will help preserve access to essential health care while we continue working toward long-term solutions to reach everyone who needs care.”

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Commissioner Katie Scott, District 9 and Chair of the Board called the federal funding cuts “threats.”  She added, “This vote was about healthcare. It was about access.”

According to the Planned Parenthood 2024-2025 national report, it performed 434,450 abortions across the country. That’s why Amber Roseboom, President, Right to Life of Michigan, called the commissioners’ move “a blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

She said, “This misuse of local resources is particularly troubling as Planned Parenthood funnels millions of dollars to support Democrat candidates in the elections.” All members of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners are Democrats.

While Planned Parenthood boasts about services beyond abortion, its clinicians do not perform mammograms or administer breast cancer diagnostic tests. They refer women to hospitals or imaging centers.

Roseboom also pushed back on the narrative that abortion rights are being taken away. “Abortion is legal in Michigan through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason. There is no lack of access to abortion with providers dispersed throughout the state. Moreover, the abortion pill now accounts for nearly 70% of abortions and is available in both clinics and through confidential mail order,” she said. Providing birth control, another one of Planned Parenthood’s talking points, is moot now that the state provides over-the-counter birth control.

Healthcare options for women are not dwindling in Michigan. According to state data, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) administers more than $130 million each year to support its 45 local health departments.

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The vote in Washtenaw County comes at the same time that Medicaid funding resumed after federal funding cut it off for a year.