Pregnancy resource centers nationwide are rapidly expanding their reach in the wake of Planned Parenthood’s federal defunding earlier this year, stepping in to provide women with services such as counseling, ultrasounds, material support, and abortion-pill reversal. Their rise comes at a moment when the nation’s largest abortion provider continues to close facilities and double down on its pro-abortion identity.
Planned Parenthood leaders warned that women would be left without maternal health care after the organization lost federal support as part of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. But that prediction has not materialized. According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute’s 2025 National Pregnancy Report, pregnancy centers collectively served more than 1 million new patients and delivered $452 million in services and material goods to nearly 4 million women in 2024 alone.
That surge in care coincides with a dramatic contraction of Planned Parenthood’s national footprint. More than 50 locations have closed since the beginning of Trump’s second term, including the group’s flagship Manhattan facility. The closures follow decades of rising abortion numbers; in 2023, Planned Parenthood committed more than 400,000 abortions, accounting for almost half of all abortions nationwide.
While the Hyde Amendment bars the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion procedures, federal funds had long flowed to Planned Parenthood through Medicaid reimbursements and other channels, indirectly subsidizing the organization. The Big Beautiful Bill eliminated those streams and reversed Biden-era administrative policies that expanded abortion funding across federal departments, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Planned Parenthood’s Shift Toward Clarity on Abortion
After the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood publicly embraced its identity as the nation’s leading abortion provider. In 2020, organization president Alexis McGill Johnson criticized efforts to downplay abortion’s centrality to the group's mission.
“I think when we say, ‘It’s a small part of what we do,’ what we’re doing is actually stigmatizing it,” she said, adding that “We are a proud abortion provider.” McGill argued that “abortion is health care” and tied “self-determination” and “freedom” to the ability to “control your own body.”
For conservatives, this candor reinforced the case for shifting resources and attention to a pro-life care network focused on supporting women rather than performing abortions. Nearly 3,000 pregnancy resource centers now operate in the United States, offering what supporters call life-affirming medical and material assistance.
“As the landscape of abortion in America following the Dobbs decision has rapidly changed, pregnancy centers continue to offer steadfast, professional care to women and families,” said Karen Czarnecki, executive director of the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
Legal Challenges Target Pro-Life Services
Success has brought scrutiny. Pregnancy centers face increasing legal challenges from state officials and pro-abortion advocates. One major case, First Choice v. Platkin, will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 2.
New Jersey launched an investigation into First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, issuing a subpoena demanding the organization’s internal documents and donor records. The state claims First Choice misrepresented its public mission by expressing a strongly pro-life message in donor materials while “downplaying” those convictions elsewhere. First Choice argues that such probing violates its First Amendment rights to freedom of association and donor privacy.
Legal experts warn that exposing donor identities could lead to harassment or retaliation. Chicago-area attorney and longtime pro-life advocate Mary FioRito highlighted these concerns: “The fear of retribution by supporters of legal abortion is not a fiction, it is a fact… Donors and volunteers whose only objective is to provide pregnant women with support should not live in fear of being doxed for doing so.”
The Rising Influence—and Opposition—of Abortion Pills
Even as pregnancy centers expand, they face increasing challenges from the growing prevalence of abortion pills. Medication abortions now account for a significant share of all abortions, accelerated by the FDA’s approval of a generic protocol and the Biden administration’s allowance of mail-order abortion drugs without an in-person medical evaluation.
Pregnancy centers have responded by offering abortion-pill reversal, a progesterone-based treatment meant to counteract Mifepristone for women who change their mind or who say the drug was coerced or administered without their consent. Currently, 29 percent of pregnancy centers offer this service.
Republican lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have urged the FDA to reinstate safeguards, warning that lax distribution creates opportunities for abuse. A recent House letter signed by 175 members stated that abortion pills are being mailed “with no physician oversight” and without “appropriate screening to ensure that bad actors are not secretly poisoning women.”
The Charlotte Lozier Institute notes that abortions increased 11 percent in the first year after Dobbs, a rise researchers largely attribute to the accessibility of abortion drugs.
A Broader Mission of Care
Although typically portrayed as alternatives to abortion, pregnancy centers provide a wide range of services that extend well beyond pregnancy itself. Centers regularly assist mothers with diapers, formula, car seats, breastfeeding consultations, post-abortion support, and counseling. Many provide long-term educational programs and parenting classes.
“Rising client visits and overall satisfaction are undeniable proof these centers are improving lives,” Czarnecki said. “It’s imperative that pregnancy centers continue to increase the availability of services — walking alongside women, men, and families to provide love, education, and support so they can courageously choose life.”
A Growing Network Filling a National Need
As Planned Parenthood contracts and openly prioritizes abortion, pregnancy resource centers are stepping into the gap with practical support, medical services, and an alternative vision for women facing unplanned pregnancies. Their success is reshaping America’s post-Dobbs landscape—one in which pro-life organizations, rather than the nation’s largest abortion provider, increasingly serve as the primary support system for women navigating difficult choices.
