Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, usually called Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization that provides reproductive and sexual healthcare and sexual education in the United States and, through partners, in other countries. It traces its roots to the birth control clinic that Margaret Sanger, her sister Ethel Byrne and Fania Mindell opened in Brooklyn in 1916, after which Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921; that league's successor organization took the name Planned Parenthood in 1942. The federation now consists of 159 medical and non-medical affiliates operating more than 600 health clinics, and it is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Beyond clinical services it funds research in reproductive technology and advocates in politics and courts for protecting and expanding reproductive rights, which makes it both a health provider and a prominent political actor. It draws a substantial share of its revenue from government sources such as Medicaid reimbursements, and has been the subject of sustained support, criticism, protest and legislative conflict throughout its history. It is placed here among research and policy institutions for its research and political advocacy work, although it is chiefly a healthcare provider.