- Yeah, as you heard in David's conversation with Senator Kim, Congress is struggling to come to an agreement on the reconciliation bill.

If it goes through, advocates warn hundreds of Planned Parenthood clinics are at risk of closing, which would limit access not just to abortion providers, but basic care many women have come to rely on.

Raven Santana reports.

- Thank you for calling the Women's Centers.

This is Roxanne speaking, how can I help you?

- Roxanne McNellis says her phone hasn't stopped ringing in the wake of state-level abortion bans and the looming threat on Medicaid funding cuts.

She and other reproductive health advocates warn that if the budget reconciliation package, currently before the US Senate becomes law, a provision to cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood could serve as a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, potentially eliminating access to one in four abortion providers across the country.

- We've been seeing people call our hotline to ask is abortion legal?

Are you gonna cancel my appointment?

Is this something that I can still get?

Do I need to hurry up and make a decision?

Maybe I'm not sure, but I think I'm gonna run out of time.

McNellis, the public affairs director for the Women's Centers says the surge in demand and mounting challenges in providing care are especially troubling for the low-income patients they serve.

And so this bill is such a slap in the face because we're cutting off access to these services that we know people need for their health.

We know that they need to break out of cycles of poverty, ultimately to pay for tax cuts for the most affluent.

- The Women's Centers is a network of independent abortion and reproductive health providers with locations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and the Cherry Hill Women's Center in New Jersey.

McNellis notes that they are increasingly seeing patients traveling from outside of New Jersey in search of care.

- Today here at our Cherry Hill Women's Center, actually one out of four patients that we see comes from outside of the state of New Jersey.

Increasingly, that is states like Texas, Florida, Carolinas, Virginia, places where abortion is banned or pushed completely out of reach.

But we also even see patients from our neighboring state of Pennsylvania, where although abortion still remains legal, it is plagued with barriers and obstacles.

- You know, the other thing that people need to understand about this defund Planned Parenthood provision in this big betrayal of a bill is that more than 90% of those 200 health centers that could be at risk of closure would be in states with abortion access.

- Planned Parenthood Action Fund President and CEO Alexis McGill-Johnson is raising an urgent warning about the potential impact on patients and communities nationwide.

If the bill passes up to 200 Planned Parenthood health centers could be forced to close, leaving many patients without accessible alternatives, forcing them to travel long distances, delay critical care, or go without it altogether.

- So when health centers close in communities across the country, it puts pressure on the health systems around them to absorb patients.

It means that when a rural hospital closes, which are very much at risk in this big betrayal of a bill, it means that more patients will have to travel further or they may end up in the emergency room in other areas.

So it actually impacts our ability to get access to care regardless of whether or not you are a Medicaid recipient.

When a hospital closes, everyone loses.

- Which really just means that Planned Parenthood is kicked out of the Medicaid program.

About 30% of the patients that come to Planned Parenthood health centers in New Jersey use Medicaid as their insurance.

So you're effectively cutting off those patients from their healthcare provider.

- The executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey says the consequences of the legislation, if passed, would not only be devastating, they would take effect immediately.

- On average, we see about 100 patients a month from states that are not New Jersey.

And we know that number is likely higher because people are scared to disclose if they're from a state where there is an abortion ban.

- Everyone I spoke with emphasized if clinics are forced to close or reduce services due to funding cuts, other providers like community health centers would be unable to meet the increased demand, leaving many patients without access to vital care.

For "Iron Day Spotlight News," I'm Raven Santana.

- Support for "The Medical Report" is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

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