At 16, Megan Riddle had a pap smear at Planned Parenthood.
She was afraid to tell her mom about being sexually active and wanted to be safe. At the health center on Indy’s south side, doctors prescribed her birth control. They also found precancerous cells in her pap results from HPV, a sexually transmitted infection.
Left untreated, the cells would have developed into cervical cancer, a preventable disease that kills about 96 women in Indiana every year.
“Planned Parenthood saved my life,” said Riddle, now 38. “They let me know what was going on and that it was treatable.”
The health center Riddle used as a teenager is closing on April 3 — alongside a second location on Meridian Street. That’s because the Trump administration stripped Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood in 2025 through the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“We know that when Planned Parenthood is defunded, the impact is really on our patients,” said Rebecca Gibron, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Indiana and five other states. “We see sexually transmitted infections rise. Cancers go undetected. People put off or delay care.”
About 31% of Planned Parenthood patients in Indiana are on Medicaid, Gibron said, and can no longer use the government-based insurance to receive care. That hurt the two Indianapolis locations financially. Together, both served about 5,600 patients in 2025.
Now, there’s only one Planned Parenthood left in the city: a clinic on Georgetown Road in Pike Township.
‘Not just about abortion’
Defunding Planned Parenthood is part of Project 2025, a series of right-wing policies transforming the country under President Donald Trump.
A White House news release from January touted Trump’s efforts to end “taxpayer-funded abortion.”
Planned Parenthood locations in Indiana, though, stopped providing abortions in 2023 after lawmakers passed a near-total ban. The organization still refers people out of state for the procedure.
Current Planned Parenthood services include cancer screenings, pregnancy tests, treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, prenatal and postpartum care, birth control and gender-affirming care.
“I hope women open their eyes and realize it’s not just about abortion,” she said. “It’s about their health, education and safety.”
— Megan Riddle, former Planned Parenthood patient
Local anti-abortion groups are celebrating the shuttered clinics in Indianapolis. Voices for Life, a nonprofit based in South Bend, called it “a crucial moment for the unborn in Indiana.”
“This could be a time to drive more business from Planned Parenthood and toward life-affirming providers!” the group’s Facebook post continued.
Riddle, the southside patient, disagreed.
“I hope women open their eyes and realize it’s not just about abortion,” she said. “It’s about their health, education and safety.”
Missing pap results
In 2018, Katherine Rogers was waiting for her doctor to share the results of her pap smear.
“I never heard back, so I assumed it was all good,” the Irvington resident said.
Later, Rogers was seen at the Planned Parenthood on Meridian Street, where staff followed up on abnormal results. Like Riddle, she was at risk of developing cervical cancer.
“Without Planned Parenthood, I would’ve been very sick without knowing why,” Rogers said. “They saved my life when another doctor let me slip through the cracks.”
The clinic removed the precancerous cells and gave Rogers an HPV vaccine. “Hopefully now I will never have to go through this again,” she said.
“Without Planned Parenthood, I would’ve been very sick without knowing why. They saved my life when another doctor let me slip through the cracks.”
— Katherine Rogers, former Planned Parenthood patient
What to know if you’re seeking care
The two clinics on Indy’s south and north sides will consolidate into one remaining site. Planned Parenthood is adding more appointments and OB-GYN services to the Georgetown Road location.
If you are affected by the closures, you can continue prescriptions and care through telehealth visits. Planned Parenthood is also working to cover costs through discounts and financial assistance for patients who can no longer use Medicaid to pay for services.
“I encourage folks to reach out to us,” said Gibron, the CEO. “We are doing absolutely everything we can to help our patients who have travel barriers or need access to care.”
You can call the patient hotline at 800-769-0045.
There are also other options for health care across Indianapolis. Check out Mirror Indy’s guide on free clinics across the city or find a Federally Qualified Health Center, which treats people regardless of insurance or their ability to pay.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
