Planned Parenthood vs. Pregnancy Resource Centers: What's the Difference?

So, let's get to the bottom of it: What do the two offer and how similar are they really?

History of Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood’s conception began with a nurse named Margaret Sanger. She traveled to Europe to study birth control methods, and returned home to open the US’s first birth control clinic. Sanger’s clinic was ultimately shut down because sharing information about birth control was illegal in the US at that time. Why was Sanger so interested in birth control, though? Most notably, she believed in Eugenics. Eugenics is a racist ideology that claims specific factions of people are not suitable to have children. She took her mission so far as to align herself with the Ku Klux Klan. However, Planned Parenthood does not endorse Sanger’s racist ideology today. 

Sanger and other thought leaders of this time thought people not suitable to become parents should be sterilized. In 1923, she started another clinic, the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau, in Manhattan to give birth control to women. As birth control rose to prominence, it is important to note that in 1956 there was a large human trial of the birth control pill in Puerto Rico. The 1,500 Puerto Rican women participating in this trial did so without informed consent. In other words, they knew the drug prevented pregnancy but they did not know that it was experimental. To put it into perspective, the level of hormones in the pills used for the trial had “hormone levels 20 times higher than birth control pills on the market today.” However, after this trial and various others, the FDA deemed birth control pills safe and approved them for the market. Planned Parenthood has since evolved from solely a birth control clinic to a place where women can receive abortions and medical care. There are now about 600 Planned Parenthood centers around the country. 

History of Pregnancy Resource Centers 

The beginning of pregnancy resource centers is a little different from Planned Parenthood because pregnancy centers are not all unified under one name and umbrella like Planned Parenthood. However, I can speak to how the concept of pregnancy centers rose to prominence. The movement for these centers started in the late 1960s because legal restrictions on abortion were beginning to be removed. They were started with the intention to provide free services like counseling, pregnancy testing, and financial help for women contemplating having abortions. The first notable group of pregnancy centers was in Toronto, Canada, under the name Birthright. Then, Birthright spread to the United States. Over the course of just three years, there were 70 centers. Today, the three major networks for pregnancy resource centers are: Heartbeat International, Care Net, and National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. Just under these three umbrellas are about 2,000 pregnancy centers. This is not including any independently run Pregnancy Resource Centers. 

Costs and Funding of Planned Parenthood 

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that is primarily funded by federal taxpayer dollars, donors, and grants. Between 2019 and 2021, close to $1.78 billion in federal taxpayer funding was given to Planned Parenthood, averaging at about $592 million each year. In 2023 alone, Planned Parenthood profited $178,600,000. So what happens to this profit if Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization? In their case, I’m not entirely sure. The difference between a traditional business’s profit and a non-profit’s profit is where that money can be distributed. A traditional business would disperse its profit to its shareholders, and sometimes that can mean payment to the owner depending on the type of business. In contrast, nonprofits have to put all those extra funds (the profit) back into the organization. No one should be benefiting from the profits generated by a non-profit.

The other element of this equation to consider is the cost of the services that Planned Parenthood provides. All the prices of services offered are listed on the different branches’ websites. Prices at Planned Parenthoods and OB/GYN offices vary from state to state, so it is difficult to compare prices side by side. Sometimes Planned Parenthood’s services are less expensive than services at a nearby OB/GYN’s office and sometimes the services cost about the same. Planned Parenthood accepts regular insurance and sometimes Medicaid like other OB/GYN offices. And occasionally there are different government programs women can participate in that may award free services. However, by and large, clients at Planned Parenthood are paying for their services.

In 2023 alone, Planned Parenthood profited $178,600,000. 

Cost and Funding of Pregnancy Resource Centers

Primarily, Pregnancy Resource Centers have been funded by donations. However, some other sources came about in the 1990s. Under the Bush Administration, between 2001 and 2005, over $30 million in federal funding was given to about 50 pregnancy centers. Obama stopped this funding, then Trump gave a $1.7 million grant for family planning to a Pregnancy Resource Center group. All in all, federal funding is not the way most of these centers operate as they are not receiving money consistently. Pregnancy Resource Centers typically have consistent financial donors that keep them running. In addition to financial donors, much of their supplies of diapers, wipes, formula, books, children’s clothes, strollers, and car seats are donated by churches and the general public. 

Services of Planned Parenthood 

Not only does Planned Parenthood offer abortions, they also offer a host of other services. However, I must reiterate, all of these services cost money. They offer birth control, emergency contraception, HIV tests, mental health services, pregnancy testing and planning, prenatal and postpartum care, sexual and reproductive concerns, STD testing and treatment, transgender and nonbinary care, vaccines, and general wellness and preventative care. Not all locations offer every service, so one must check to make sure their location offers the service he or she is seeking. Some Planned Parenthood locations even offer classes on sex education for middle schoolers, high schoolers, and parents.

Services of Pregnancy Resource Centers

While each Pregnancy Resource Center is different, this is a general idea of what they offer. First and foremost, these services are free to anyone who seeks them. There is no requirement to prove need. Care is typically provided by nurses and counselors, while there are OB/GYNs who oversee and sign off on ultrasounds. These centers offer STI testing, prescriptions for STIs, and education about STIs. When a woman comes in for a pregnancy test, she sits down with a counselor to discuss her situation and her options. These centers don’t typically refer women to places that provide abortions; however, they explain the different types of abortion and the risks that accompany them. The counselor or nurse will discuss getting a free ultrasound at the center. If adoption is brought up, they can refer clients to adoption agencies. They will refer clients to OB/GYNs in the area. If they don’t have insurance, counselors will help them apply for Medicaid. When pregnant, the income threshold for Medicaid is often higher. So, many women don’t realize that they may now qualify for Medicaid since becoming pregnant. 

Aside from the medical services, pregnancy resource centers also offer education and supplies for pregnant women and mothers. They have classes spanning from pregnancy, breastfeeding, car seat installation, reading with children, motherhood, fatherhood and more. They provide women with diapers, wipes, formula, strollers, car seats, books, blankets, clothes, and toiletries. 

Pregnancy Resource Centers and Planned Parenthood Side by Side 

When looked at with a closer eye, it's clear that Planned Parenthood and Pregnancy Resource Centers are two completely different entities. Though both have non-profit status, Planned Parenthood operates like a business. They are essentially an OB/GYN office that sometimes offers slightly lower prices than other OB/GYN offices for services. Pregnancy Resource Centers stay afloat financially by their donors. Pregnancy Resource Centers offer fewer medical services than Planned Parenthood, yet the services they offer are free. Planned Parenthood offers abortions that cost money; Pregnancy Resource Centers do not offer abortions at all. Aside from the medical elements of these organizations, Pregnancy Resource Centers offer free classes about pregnancy and parenthood. Planned Parenthood offers classes about sex education. 

At no cost to the clients, Pregnancy Resource Centers guide pregnant women from positive pregnancy tests to parenthood through medical resources, education about pregnancy and parenthood, and supplies for their children. Typically at a cost to the clients, Planned Parenthood offers women a host of medical services, abortions, and sex education. In other words, Planned Parenthood is where you go to end a pregnancy, learn about preventing pregnancy, and to receive standard female medical care. Pregnancy Resource Centers are where you go to confirm a pregnancy, receive medical guidance throughout pregnancy, and garner support as a new parent.