Manhattan’s only Planned Parenthood clinic shutting down

There will soon be one less Planned Parenthood clinic in America’s largest city.

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York (PPGNY) recently announced it will sell the property hosting its only clinic in Manhattan, a New York City borough.

The move comes as Planned Parenthood faces financial difficulties. 

“The gap between inflation and stagnant reimbursement rates has forced us to make difficult but necessary decisions, including selling 26 Bleecker Street, home of the Manhattan Health Center,” PPGNY President Wendy Stark said in a statement.  

Planned Parenthood will put the facility on the market for $39 million, hoping to make up for the $31 million deficit the organization endured last year, the Gothamist reports. 

National Catholic Register photographer Jeffrey Bruno, who has often covered sidewalk counseling at the clinic, celebrated its closure. 

“The battle for life is far from over; but, today, there’s cause to celebrate, because this reveals firsthand how God works in ways we cannot always see,” Bruno told Catholic News Agency. “And today, we’ve witnessed a glimpse – proof that, through prayer, trust, and love, miracles can … and do … happen. And sometimes, they happen on a quiet street in Manhattan.” 

The soon-to-be-shuttered clinic bore the name of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger until August 2020. The organization removed her name from the clinic due to her support for eugenics, the inhumane view that selective breeding improves population quality. 

“The removal of Margaret Sanger’s name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood’s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color,” PPGNY Board Chair Karen Seltzer said in a release at the time. 

The Manhattan clinic shutting down comes after the abortion provider already scaled back operations last year. 

It shut down four abortion clinics, including one in the Staten Island borough of New York City. Additionally, PPGNY stopped performing abortions after 20 weeks last summer, citing the high cost of pain management medication necessary for late-term abortions, according to Catholic News Agency. 

The abortion group now has just three locations in New York City, a city of over eight million people. The clinics are in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.