Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Republican supporter of the MAGA movement and one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, called Planned Parenthood’s initiative to offer free vasectomies and medication abortions in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, next week “heartbreaking.”

“I thought this was fake, but it’s not,” she wrote on X on Saturday. “Planned Parenthood will be offering free vasectomies and abortions at the Democratic National Convention next week,” she added. “This is hard to comprehend and truly heartbreaking. Being a mother is the most precious gift, choose life.”

Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, which describes itself as a “leading provider, educator and protector of sexual and reproductive health care” in the St. Louis area, plans to operate a mobile health center near the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19 and 20. People who have an appointment will reportedly be able to undergo a vasectomy or medication abortion for free, while emergency contraception will be provided without an appointment.

Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Greene and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers via email outside of normal business hours Sunday morning for comment.

According to Planned Parenthood, the average cost of a vasectomy in the United States can range from $0 to $1,000, including follow-up visits. It depends on where the patient undergoes a vasectomy, the type of surgery, and whether it is covered by insurance. At the higher end, the procedure can cost more than some can afford.

Due to high demand, the center already has a waiting list for vasectomy appointments. “All appointments for free vasectomies and medication abortions at our Chicago mobile health clinic are full,” Planned Parenthood Great Rivers wrote on X on Saturday.

“Check back soon – we will re-release the interest form link if there are any cancellations,” it said, before adding that patients would still have access to Planned Parenthood’s 11 health centers in Chicago and the surrounding area.

As of Saturday, appointments for medical abortions were still available at the center’s mobile health clinic in Chicago.

Offering a free vasectomy or medication abortion is of tremendous importance in southern Illinois, where Planned Parenthood Great Rivers operates, because it is close to Missouri, which now bans abortion except in medical emergencies. The Guttmacher Institute reported that in 2023, about 2,860 Missourians traveled to Kansas to get an abortion, while 8,710 went to Illinois.

Conservatives reacted to the initiative with similar anger and disbelief to Greene. Sarah Fields, president of the conservative organization Texas Freedom Coalition, commented on it on X: “The depravity of humanity has reached a point that breaks my heart and troubles my soul daily. I sincerely hope that God returns soon. This cannot continue.”

Disapproval also came from Democrats for Life, a national organization that opposes abortion rights and openly criticizes the Democratic Party’s stance on the issue. The group wrote on X, calling on the Democratic National Convention to “end funding abortion and make birth free.”

But protecting access to abortion is likely to be a central message of next week’s convention, as Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to take a more aggressive stance on the issue than President Joe Biden.

The Vice President has consistently defended access to abortion throughout her career and her years in President Joe Biden’s administration and condemned the Supreme Court’s decision Roe v. Wade in summer 2022.

Abortion is also a weak point for conservative Republicans and could damage Trump’s chances of winning in November. Two-thirds of American voters (66 percent) believe abortion should be legal in either all cases (34 percent) or most cases (32 percent), according to a Quinnipiac University poll released in April. That’s the highest number in two decades since the institute began measuring support for the practice.