Planned Parenthood says they have been forced to close their two most remote locations in Utah. But a student organization is stepping up to help fill the gap.
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah announced on Instagram last week that both the Logan and St. George locations would be closing their doors on May 2. The post explained this decision follows the Trump administration's withholding of $2.8 million in Title X funds — a federal program that supports services like birth control, STI testing, and cancer screenings. Notably, Title X funds are prohibited from being used for abortion services.
Eloise Hales, co-president of Students United for Reproductive Freedom (SURF) at Utah State University, represents Planned Parenthood on campus. She said that while she does know individuals who have received abortions through Planned Parenthood, those cases are rare compared to the wide range of other health services students rely on.
“I specifically always try to post about the misconception that Planned Parenthood is just abortion," she said. "It's really not. They do breast cancer scans, they do STD testing, they get birth control — any form of birth control — and it's a safe place where people genuinely care about your health and want what you want.”
But Hales and her co-president, Bridget Ackroyd, are already looking ahead to how they can support students after the Logan clinic closes.
Ackroyd said that while there are other places to go for these services in town, none of them are very affordable for students.
“We want to be able to let students know that if they need a ride to a center that's further away, that we're more than willing to give that ride," she explained. "That's something that we personally want to offer.”
She added USU students can reach out through the school's SURF Instagram page for help getting a ride.
The pair is also working on a longer term project to bring a vending machine offering free or discounted emergency contraception to USU — and Hales said it’s looking promising.
“We're optimistic that it's going to work out," she said, "because our data shows that [the] majority of people are in support of it, and there's a need for it on our campus. And obviously now, since Planned Parenthood closed, there are a couple other schools in the state — and in the nation — that actually have these, and they've been doing great.”
The vending machine may also offer forms of contraception like condoms and dental dams.
But while SURF is making an effort to help serve the community’s needs, the co-presidents said they really hope Planned Parenthood will re-open its doors in the future.
“I'm really sad that they're leaving college towns, because that's a lot of where the need is," Hales said. "I know people are out there who have their views, who are like, ‘Well, you shouldn't be doing this. You shouldn't be doing that.’ People are going to do what they want regardless, and we need to keep people safe.”
