FERNDALE, Mich. \u2013 The Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted on Thursday to approve $1.5 million in funding to help keep one of Metro Detroit\u2019s last remaining Planned Parenthood clinics open.<\/p>\n
The proposal, introduced by Board Chair Dave Woodward, will reimburse Planned Parenthood of Michigan for eligible in-person and telehealth services at its Ferndale health center, helping to keep the clinic operational through 2028.<\/p>\n
Dozens of community members gave emotional public comments both for and against the proposed funding ahead of the commissioners\u2019 vote, which passed 11 to 6 after nearly three hours of public comments.<\/p>\n
A large number of residents voiced opposition to the proposal, with many criticizing county officials for allocating taxpayer funds to support an organization that performs abortions as part of its sexual and reproductive health services.<\/p>\n
West Bloomfield resident Tamara Mitchell, president of the Frederick Douglass Freedom Alliance, a national conservative organization, told commissioners that voting to \u201cmake Oakland County taxpayers partners of Planned Parenthood\u201d would be a misuse of fiduciary authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery idea for spending is not a good idea,\u201d she said. \u201cAs community servants, it is your job to act responsibly with Oakland County monies. I urge you to do your duty today and reject this proposal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several residents also expressed support for the emergency resolution on Thursday, some highlighting the many other vital health services Planned Parenthood offers in addition to abortion care.<\/p>\n
\u201cFerndale is the only planned parenthood clinic left in Oakland County,\u201d said Debbie Rosenman, of Bloomfield Township. \u201cPassing this emergency resolution will keep [healthcare] access in place for thousands.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vote comes a little more than a week after two Metro Detroit Planned Parenthood clinics in Warren and Livonia closed because of funding issues.<\/p>\n
In a Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting earlier this month, Planned Parenthood of Michigan President and CEO Paula Thornton Greear gave insight into the financial problems their clinics are facing, calling its funding shortfall \u201ca calculated and targeted ongoing assault on Planned Parenthood by the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Title X funding was exhausted at the end of May, and the Trump administration has stated quite loudly it\u2019s intent to exclude Planned Parenthood from Title X entirely moving forward,\u201d she said. \u201cTogether these decisions have opened a nearly $1 million operating gap for our Ferndale health center.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, not everyone agrees the clinic closures represent a funding crisis. Amber Roseboom, president of Right to Life Michigan, argued that reproductive health services remain widely available across the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quote-unquote services that they reference are available and provided by every major health system in the state of Michigan,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no shortage. If\u00a0Planned\u00a0Parenthood\u00a0was providing a high level of care they wouldn\u2019t be closing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Woodward noted before the vote that the county has entered into a similar funding agreement with Planned Parenthood in 2019, when the board approved $500,000 in funding to support the organization\u2019s healthcare services.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking certain that all people have access to healthcare has been something that I have believed and fought for my entire public service career, and that\u2019s what this is about,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is about health professionals and patients getting the care that they need in a way that is responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Commissioner Michael Spisz put forth a motion to postpone the vote on Thursday, suggesting that the board was not provided the detailed financials of Planned Parenthood\u2019s Ferndale location necessary to make an \u201ceducated decision.\u201d That motion failed 6-11.<\/p>\n
According to Planned Parenthood, Oakland County residents made roughly 6,000 visits to Planned Parenthood locations for care between July 2025 and June 2026 for services include cancer screenings, annual wellness exams, contraception and reproductive health counseling.<\/p>\n
The two-year contract with Oakland County will extend through Aug. 31, 2028.<\/p>\n
Right to Like Michigan released a statement regarding the vote:<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s vote represents a complete failure of local government to hold itself accountable to the taxpayers,\u201d said Amber Roseboom, President, Right to Life of Michigan. \u201cPlanned Parenthood\u2019s unrelenting push for more taxpayer money, in the midst of a hotly contested election in which they are funneling millions of dollars to Democratic candidates, is a flagrant abuse of the public trust and resources. Democrats at every level of government have forgotten they are accountable to the voters, not their special interest super PACs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right to Life Michigan<\/p>\n
WDIV Reporter Amaya Kuznicki contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FERNDALE, Mich. \u2013 The Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted on Thursday to approve $1.5 million in funding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[344824,97,252,253,22184],"class_list":["post-812654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-ferndale","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-oakland-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}