- SIRA, a faith-based pregnancy center in Gainesville, purchased the former Planned Parenthood building next door for $345,000 on Sept. 10.
- Planned Parenthood closed in Gainesville after June due to outsourcing abortions and free services from SIRA, while Florida's abortion ban will take effect in 2024.
- SIRA has served 2,786 clients in five years and plans to expand services in the new building after construction and design adjustments based on staff input.
SIRA, a Gainesville faith-based pregnancy center, is expanding from one building into two after recently finalizing the purchase of the former Planned Parenthood located directly next door.
Executive Director Kathy Gratto announced the acquisition during the non-profit organization’s annual fundraising banquet Thursday at North Central Baptist Church.
She called the opportunity a miracle and thanked community members for their prayers, time spent volunteering, and financial giving that made the purchase possible.
“Many of you in attendance tonight are rejoicing with us and witnessing the fruit from your sacrifice, commitment, prayers and investment,” Gratto said. “God always has a plan. We have hopes and desires and missions and goals. We pray, and we wait, and in the waiting, our faith grows, and God continues to reveal Himself. And as you can see, He’s still the God of miracles.”
Both SIRA and Planned Parenthood opened in 1974, in the wake of Roe v. Wade, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion as a constitutional right.
SIRA and Planned Parenthood had operated as next-door neighbors since 1997, though with very different approaches.
Planned Parenthood at 914 NW 13th Street provided and counseled on abortions and other pregnancy-related services, which it provided for fees. The location also provided gender-affirming services for those with gender dysphoria, including hormones and surgical referrals.
At 912 NW 13th Street, SIRA opened, offering its services, which do not include abortion, for free, with a mission to “offer help, hope and healing grounded in truth and love.”
According to a release, 2,786 unique clients have been served by SIRA, with 7,237 visits in the last five years. The organization relies on donations to keep all services free to clients, including pregnancy and STI tests, ultrasounds, life skill classes and post-abortion care.
Originally founded as Crisis Pregnancy Center of Gainesville, the center operated as Women’s Resource and Medical Clinic until 2016, when it became SIRA to reflect additional resources for men.
Gratto, who’s been at the helm of SIRA since 2015 and won a 2026 Fierce Award for her work, said the organization’s leaders had been praying about how to use savings it had set aside over the past few years. She said the answer came in June, when Gainesville’s Planned Parenthood shut down after it said it couldn’t keep up with outsourcing surgical abortions to other locations and free offerings from SIRA.
The closure came four years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, paving the way for the Florida Supreme Court to uphold in 2024 a state ban on abortion after six weeks into a pregnancy.
At the SIRA banquet, Pensacola-based OBGYN Bill Lile said annual abortions in the state have dropped from around 85,000 before the heartbeat law to 48,000, but that does not include undocumented abortions that occur via the abortion pill.
In August, SIRA’s realtor, Craig Carter, secured a tour of the former Planned Parenthood building, and the team put in an offer the next day. The sale price of $345,000 is about half of the $675,000 that Planned Parenthood of South Florida bought the building for in 2015.
“Closing procedures began, and the seller found out that it was a crisis pregnancy center that wanted to buy the building, and there was pushback, which we expected,” Gratto said. “So with some legal extra steps, and two closings, for which Planned Parenthood paid all the costs, on Sept. 10, SIRA became the proud owner of the 914.”
Gratto said the new building will provide the space SIRA needs to keep expanding its services. She said there’s lots of construction ahead before it can open, and designs will incorporate staff feedback on how each room should be used.
But first, the journey that started with prayer will continue with prayer. SIRA is inviting the public to gather at the former Planned Parenthood building 6-7 p.m. Monday to pray and dedicate the facility.
“There’s still much to be done in our community, and in the fight for life,” Gratto said. “We have a lot of work and planning ahead of us. I hope you will rejoice with us and continue to invest in the life-changing, life-saving ministry of SIRA.”