Planned Parenthood was as the centre of a protest among pro-choice and pro-life campaigners as more than 200 rallies took place in 45 states on Saturday (11 February).

Pro-life campaigners, under the umbrella #protestpp, took to the streets outside of the clinics to demand that the government stops funding for the healthcare organisation they dubbed "America's abortion giant".

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In response to the rallies, groups of pro-choice campaigners sought to match the protests and also turned out in their droves, sporting the pink hats that were popularised in the Women's March protests on 21 January.

Planned Parenthood asked protesters to stay away from the clinics when offering their support, and asked for pro-choice demonstrators to consider other supportive methods instead of loud rallies.

In St Paul, Minnesota, as many as 6,000 people turned up for the competing protests, according to local police.

In the latest campaign on the healthcare provider's website, the group are asking supporters to add their email to an online petition to send to Congress in a challenge to "extremist lawmakers".

The organisation, which provides cancer and STI screenings, birth control and sex education, is arguably the biggest reproductive health provider in the country.

It receives more than $500m (£400m) a year in government funding, and around 75% of this amount comes from Medicaid.

That money does not fund abortions, but pays for medical services that include cancer screenings and HIV testing, says Time magazine.

Nearly five million women, men and adolescents use Planned Parenthood services a year worldwide. The group's website also receives 60 million visitors annually.

The organisation has been in action for 100 years, and provides services including abortion in 650 of its centres nationwide.

Concerns over female reproductive health are rife in the US. The Trump administration recently issued an executive order which prevented US aid from being provided to NGOs that provide or advise on abortions.

The order garnered criticism from politicians and public alike, who argued that the measure set US reproductive policy back decades.

The order, which was signed in a room of a male-only politicians, came just days after the 44th anniversary of Roe V Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that enshrined the right to abortion in the US.