As of today, the state of Texas has stopped supporting Planned Parenthood's services to women, even though those services consist of medical care, not abortion, in the state.
Planned Parenthood has been embroiled in a complicated legal battle with the state of Texas as Republican officials attempt to exclude the organization from the state’s Women’s Health Program, which uses federal and state money to fund preventive care for low-income women. The organization sued to block Texas from discriminating against abortion providers, but Visiting Judge Gary Harger ruled that Texas may design a state-run Women’s Health Program that excludes qualified providers like Planned Parenthood — despite the fact that, on a federal level, states aren’t allowed to block qualified health providers from receiving Medicaid funds.
The new Women’s Health Program launches on Tuesday, and Monday’s ruling ensures that Planned Parenthood won’t be part of it. ...Think Progress
Okay, fellas. Here's what this Texas voter intends to do. Every thin dime I'm asked to contribute to a member of the State Legislature or a judge in my district will go to Planned Parenthood. Every robocall from that damn Republican rep over the Christmas holiday asking constituents to help him pay down campaign debt has been duly noted and has become a contribution to Planned Parenthood. Over the year, this stuff adds up.
In a state where medical care for those with limited resources is slim to non-existent, this is a mess.
Before Texas Republicans began their crusade against Planned Parenthood, the organization provided preventative cancer screenings, contraceptive services, and family planning assistance to nearly half of the state’s 130,000 low-income women in the Medicaid program.Texas’ insistence on defunding Planned Parenthood has already had far-reaching consequences. Some health clinics in the state have been forced to close — including at least 50 that weren’t even affiliated with Planned Parenthood’s national organization — leading thousands of low-income women to forgo the preventative care they need. Monday’s decision will almost certainly cause additional health clinics to close their doors in January, the lawyer representing Planned Parenthood pointed out.
Since the Hyde Amendment already prevents Medicaid programs from covering abortion services, the Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas don’t actually perform abortions for any of their patients in the Women’s Health Program. ...Think Progress
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