Planned parenthood has opened a new quick-service clinic in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

The clinic will not perform abortions. Instead, lotions, essential oils and
decorative carrying cases for pills and condoms will beckon shoppers inside,
where they can also get oral contraceptives, pregnancy tests and screening for
HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea _ all in about 20 minutes. If customers are
interested, the clinic may add massages and other spa services later,
spokeswoman Marta Coursey said.

Great. I’m all about the shiny condom cases and lotions while getting birth control. However there is a problem with this set-up.

But it won’t take patients on subsidized health plans if they can’t pay out of pocket. those customers can visit one of Planned Parenthood’s 22 existing clinics in Minnesota, which operate on a sliding scale based on the patient’s income.

Planned Parenthood’s justification for this:

As federal and state aid for family planning services declines, Stoesz said Planned Parenthood will be able to expand only through clinics that pay for themselves. Success in Woodbury could lead to express clinics in other locations, she added.

I know funding is tight, but the problem is not that women who can afford it can’t get access to birth control. It’s that women who can’t afford it can’t get access.