Bill Lutjens, a long-time Fieldbrook resident who mostly keeps to himself in his rural residence, says he felt compelled to act when he learned about the nationwide funding cuts to healthcare enacted by the Trump administration. He received an inheritance several years ago and wanted to keep the money out of the federal government’s control. So, he says, he focused his philanthropic efforts on local nonprofits and organizations he believes in.
“I was a wage slave. I’ve been up here for 50 years and it was only the last five years that I’ve been able to say, ‘Oh hey, looking at it, I could give money over here and it won’t go to war and genocide,’ so that’s the reason why I’m doing this,” Lutjens says.
In January, he gave a $100,000 gift-matching donation to Planned Parenthood’s Care Can’t Wait campaign, meant to double any donations made from the North Coast region.
That contribution came after a panel of First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges on Dec. 30 allowed the federal government to continue withholding Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood health centers in 22 states and Washington, D.C., including California. With 70 percent of Planned Parenthood’s funding coming from Medicaid reimbursements, the organization was facing the risk of having health centers close.
The total donations from the start of the gift-matching campaign have now exceeded $113,000, according to a press release from Planned Parenthood NorCal, with a Bay Area donor offering a $500,000 match for future donations.
Christian Garcia, vice president of government relations and communications for Planned Parenthood NorCal, says the nonprofit began noticing a larger number of donations coming in after Roe v. Wade was overturned, and more so after the federal defunding.
“This match really kind of continued to meet that moment, and especially in the north in the Eureka-Humboldt area,” Garcia says. “I think people were just really excited to support in whichever way they can, and so we’re really ecstatic about the commitment that we got from the community and we’re able to meet that match, so that was great.”
Medicaid/Medi-Cal Defunding
Through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed in July of 2025, Medicaid funding was rescinded for any health and community organizations that provide abortions outside of cases of rape, incest or a pregnancy that would “place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed.” Democratic lawmakers, along with Planned Parenthood, have sued the federal government and filed appeals to reverse the policy, but the organization can’t maintain itself without that funding for long.
“More than 80 percent of patients are no longer covered for essential sexual and reproductive care, including cancer screening, STI testing, vasectomies, abortion care, and more,” a press release from Planned Parenthood NorCal reads. “Yet these patients are not turned away; people are still being treated, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status.”
Lutjens says he previously kept his donations to Planned Parenthood and other local organizations anonymous but decided that publicly naming himself as a donor would inspire other community members.
“I am very upset about it, so that’s the reason why I’m contributing to them,” Lutjens says. “They asked me to extend this $100,000 donation so that they could encourage other people like-minded to myself so that they could get more donations and put my name in publication.”
Lutjens emphasizes that women having access to all forms of healthcare was one of the main reasons he donated to Planned Parenthood, and he wanted his donation to directly fund services in his community.
”It makes a big difference for them because I’m sure they just are waiting for the nationwide process to send the money, but this way I can get it directly to them instead of having to have it trickle down to them through other means,” Lutjens says.
Garcia also mentions the indirect consequences of defunding Planned Parenthood clinics because of abortion services.
“It was a one-year defund, basically attacking us without naming us, because of the care that we provide for abortion, but that affected everything else,” Garcia says. “And so, we’re still waiting to see what comes out of the federal government and what other kind of actions they take upon making it more difficult for our patients to get the care that they need.”
Planned Parenthood’s Plan Going Forward
Planned Parenthood NorCal is currently focusing its efforts on the Care Can’t Wait campaign through the fiscal year ending in June and then will wait to see how the federal government acts regarding funding.
The Planned Parenthood center in Eureka currently offers services in gender-affirming care, STD testing and treatment, abortions and contraceptive care, mental health and other forms of healthcare. Even if incoming patients don’t have health insurance or their insurance doesn’t cover Planned Parenthood visits, the clinics operate on a sliding scale for service fees.
On Feb. 11, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed $90 million in emergency funds into legislation for Planned Parenthood and other impacted health clinics. California Attorney General Rob Bonta also filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state against the federal government for the “Defund Provision” of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Garcia says Planned Parenthood is monitoring. He is firm in Planned Parenthood’s dedication to its patients, saying that the health organization will continue to offer the same quality of care and accommodate everyone.
“We’ve continued to keep our doors open, we’ve continued to serve those patients, regardless of whether we are getting our … reimbursements or not from the federal government,” Garcia says. “We’ve been fortunate to have state support to be able to also invest in the services that we offer in Northern California, but also with our affiliate partners across the state. And so, we’ll just continue to be there for our patients and not make any changes if we don’t have to.”
Griffin Mancuso is a freelance journalist based in Eureka. More of his work can be found on griffinmancuso.wordpress.com.
This article appears in Granny Rage on Women’s Day.