Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM)

Background

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains traced its origins to the Denver Birth Control League, which was established in 1916 by a group of Colorado birth-control advocates. ⁴ The organization distributed information about contraception during its first decade and opened its first birth-control clinic in the basement of a Denver church in 1926. ⁵ The group later became an affiliate of the Planned Parenthood network and was operating under the Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains name by the 1980s. ⁶ PPRM subsequently expanded its clinical, educational, and advocacy operations across Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, providing abortions, contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, cancer screenings, sex-education programs, and gender-transition-related medical services. ^{1  7}

Advocacy

Abortion Policy and Legislation

In 2022, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains physicians and staff testified in support of the Colorado Reproductive Health Equity Act, which was signed into law in 2022. The bill prohibits state and local governments from interfering with decisions concerning contraception, pregnancy, or abortion, and declared that fertilized eggs, embryos, and unborn babies did not have independent rights under state law. ⁸

In 2023, then-PPRM government-affairs representative Jack Teter testified in support of Senate Bill 189, which expanded insurance coverage for abortion and contraception, prohibited certain advertising by pregnancy centers that did not provide abortions, and protected providers involved in abortion or gender-transition-related medical care that was legal in Colorado. ⁹ The organization also opposed bills that would have abolished abortion in Colorado, required pain medication for unborn children before certain abortions, or recognized unborn children as persons under portions of state civil and criminal law. ^{10  11  12}

In 2021, Teter testified in support of legislation creating a state reproductive-health program for illegal immigrants who were ineligible for Medicaid because of their immigration status. ¹³ In 2025, PPRM representatives supported legislation implementing Colorado Amendment 79, approved into law in 2024, which established a state constitutional right to abortion and repealed a prohibition on using state and local funds to pay for abortions. ^{14  15}

Parental Notification and Judicial Bypass

PPRM has provided information and legal referrals to minors seeking abortions without notifying a parent or guardian. Colorado law generally requires providers to give written notice at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor, subject to exceptions, including medical emergencies, abuse, emancipation, or a court-approved judicial bypass. ¹⁶

The organization has operated a hotline for minors seeking information about judicial bypass and connected callers with attorneys who offered representation without charge. Its materials explained that a judge could waive parental notification after finding that a minor was sufficiently mature or that notification was not in the minor’s interests. ¹⁷

Gender-Transition-Related Services and Advocacy

In 2025, then-PPRM government-affairs representative Jack Teter testified in support of Colorado House Bill 1309, which codified coverage of gender-transition-related medical care in state-regulated health plans and restricted access to archived testosterone-prescription information in the state prescription-monitoring database. ¹⁸

In June 2025, PPRM joined the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, Equality New Mexico, ProgressNow New Mexico, and other organizations in criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding Tennessee’s restrictions on gender-transition-related medical care for minors. The coalition argued that such treatment “saves lives” and was “medically necessary.” ³

In 2025, the organization joined One Colorado, Rocky Mountain Equality, Young Invincibles, and other left-of-center groups in supporting legislation expanding legal and insurance protections for gender-transition-related medical services. ¹⁹ As of 2026, PPRM’s clinical materials list hormone treatment among the services available at its health centers. ²

Sex Education and LGBT Youth Programming

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains operates sex-education programs for children, teenagers, parents, schools, and community organizations through its Responsible Sex Education Institute. The organization has claimed that its programs addressed contraception, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, consent, sexual orientation, and gender identity. ²⁰

In 2019, PPRM representatives Jack Teter and Alison Macklin testified in support of Colorado House Bill 1032, which required participating school districts to include instruction on consent, sexual orientation, and gender identity; prohibited curricula that endorsed religious doctrine; and restricted abstinence-focused instruction that excluded information about contraception. ²¹

In New Mexico, PPRM has operated TEEN’MPower, a program for LGBT teenagers and their allies. The program held weekly gatherings in Albuquerque, operated an online message board on the website Discord geared towards minors, and discussed gender roles, sexual behavior, HIV prevention, and relationships. PPRM offered participants food, gift cards, gasoline cards, merchandise, and recreational outings. ²²

HIV-Prevention and Contraception Programs

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains has provided HIV testing, counseling, pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, condom distribution, and education concerning HIV and sexually transmitted infections. PPRM was also listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as offering testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis, herpes, and syphilis, as well as assistance for uninsured patients seeking HIV-prevention medication. ²³

In 2023, PPRM’s affiliated Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Action Fund supported Colorado Senate Bill 284, which required certain insurance plans to cover over-the-counter contraceptives without a prescription, prior authorization, or step-therapy requirements. ²⁴

Affiliated Political Advocacy

PPRM’s policy work has overlapped with affiliated advocacy organizations, including Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado and Planned Parenthood Votes New Mexico. PPRM’s website promoted Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado’s canvassing and fundraising program, while the affiliated groups participated in legislative advocacy, electoral activity, and campaigns supporting expanded abortion access. ¹

As of 2026, PPRM was organized as a 501(c)(3) charity, while the PPRM Action Fund operated as a separate 501(c)(4) advocacy organization with broader authority to lobby and participate in electoral politics. Representatives appeared in legislative records under both PPRM and Action Fund names. ^{24  25}

Controversies

Unionization Dispute

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains employees voted 72 to 57 in December 2017 to join Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 105. PPRM retained management-side labor law firm Fisher Phillips and asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to review a decision allowing professional and nonprofessional employees at 14 Colorado facilities to organize without employees from its clinics in New Mexico and Wyoming. ²⁶ The organization withdrew its request for review in August 2018 and signed a collective-bargaining agreement with the union the following month. ^{26  27}

Union supporters accused PPRM of distributing materials opposing unionization and holding meetings intended to discourage employees from supporting the campaign. ²⁸ Former PPRM employee Ashley Brink later told Capital and Main that workers sought union representation partly because of low compensation and a perceived disconnect between frontline staff and management. ²⁷

Fetal-Tissue Videos and Litigation

In July 2015, the Center for Medical Progress released an undercover video featuring Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ then-vice president and medical director, Savita Ginde, discussing a proposed agreement to provide fetal tissue obtained following abortions. The video showed Ginde discussing reimbursement, specimen procurement, and concerns that the arrangement could be perceived as selling fetal tissue across state lines. ²⁹

PPRM denied wrongdoing and stated that it had rejected the proposed agreement because the company presented by the undercover activists did not meet its legal and ethical standards. The Center for Medical Progress disputed PPRM’s characterization and claimed the affiliate had remained interested in an agreement. ²⁹ PPRM later joined Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and other affiliates in litigation against the Center for Medical Progress and its organizers over the undercover operation and recordings. ³⁰

Financials

According to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ 2024 tax filing, the organization reported $56,376,611 in revenue, $66,931,878 in expenses, and $75,785,318 in total assets. Most of the organization’s revenue came from contributions and program services. ³¹

PPRM reported $455,138 in direct government grants in 2024. That figure did not include government health-care reimbursements reported as program service revenue, including Medicaid payments. ProPublica also listed a federal audit for PPRM’s 2022 fiscal year, indicating that the organization had spent at least $750,000 in federal grant money during that year. ^{32  31}

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) reported providing $8,175,603 to PPRM in 2023, while Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas provided $3 million and Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties provided $350,000 that year. The Center for Civic Policy (CCP), a New Mexico-based left-of-center advocacy organization, also reported providing PPRM with $50,000 for program services in 2023. ^{33  34  35  36}

In Norton v. Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, former Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment executive director Jane Norton alleged that approximately $14 million in state payments for non-abortion services had indirectly subsidized abortion operations through PPRM’s financial relationship with an affiliated services entity. In 2018, the Colorado Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit, ruling that the complaint had not alleged that the state paid for the performance of any particular abortion. ³⁷

Leadership

As of 2026, Adrienne Mansanares was president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. Mansanares assumed this position in January 2022 after succeeding Vicki Cowart. Before becoming CEO, Mansanares worked as PPRM’s chief experience officer and previously sat on its board of trustees, including chairing the board. ^{38  39  40}