Planned Parenthood Is Entering Its Botox Era?

The U.S. has hit a new low: some Planned Parenthood clinics are reportedly opting to offer $9-a-unit Botox injections just to keep the lights on. 

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Planned Parenthood Mar Monte—which operates 30 clinics in mid-California and Nevada—are getting creative by becoming the first in the national network to offer Botox, IVs, and other trendy cosmetic procedures, with more locations expected to follow. Yay?? 

“We know we have to face reality to keep our doors open,” the president and CEO of Mar Monte told the WSJ in a statement. The reality being that after the GOP passed Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” over the summer, stripping hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood—roughly $100 million from the Mar Monte network alone. While the legislation didn’t explicitly name Planned Parenthood, it functioned as a backdoor attack by stipulating that any nonprofit providing abortion services and receiving more than $800,000 in federal funding would be barred from Medicaid reimbursements for one year. Apart from Planned Parenthood, most organizations don’t come anywhere near that threshold. 

California got involved in February, approving a $90 million emergency grant to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to help soften the blow. “As the Trump administration’s Big Ugly Bill punishes women and community health providers, California continues to stand in support of women’s access to essential health services and reproductive freedom,” California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) said at the time. Still, it wasn’t enough. And across the country, approximately 50 clinics were forced to close in 2025. 

The Mar Monte network has been experimenting with different revenue models for a while now, including offering sedation for in-office procedures and additional telehealth services, before making the jump to Botox and IV hydration packages. Other clinics are reportedly exploring offering dermal fillers and GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. 

It’s hard to reconcile that this national health care organization, known for providing birth control, sexual health and cancer screenings, and abortion care to millions of patients, is slowly being pushed into a world of med-spa economics in order to continue providing essential healthcare. But for now, yes, in 2026, supporting your local Planned Parenthood might just mean booking your Botox touch-ups alongside your pap smear. 

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Mabel Kabani and Wren Woodson run Newsgirls. Follow them on Substack, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

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