I was reading Sara Rosenbaum‘s article,
Planned Parenthood, Community Health Centers, And Women’s Health: Getting The Facts Right, in which she made this statement.

For the millions of poor women who depend on Planned Parenthood clinics, this scenario would mean the loss of affordable and accessible contraceptive services and counseling, as well as breast and cervical cancer screenings and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The assertion that community health centers could step into a breach of this magnitude is simply wrong and displays a fundamental misunderstanding of how the health care system works.

What bothered me about her statement was that I recently looked up Planned Parenthood locations in the Cincinnati area and was surprised to find that not a single one was located in one of the six highest poverty communities. Since the Planned Parenthood facilities are not in the community they purport to serve, there are several hospitals that are at least as convenient to get to as the Planned Parenthood centers. If you have to get on a bus to see a health care professional then going to a hospital should logically be your first choice. From a policy perspective if our goal is better woman health care then the money going to Planned Parenthood would probably be better spent on improving community health centers which has the advantage of convenience or improving out-patient services at local hospitals which has the advantage of greater medical resources.