Last month, Texas lost the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, which formerly served 130,000 low-income women by funding clinics that provided preventative care. (BUST blogged about this issue before the cut was made.) This care included cancer screenings and contraception–some of the affected clinics were Planned Parenthood-affiliated, but none of the federal money contributed to abortions. Texas Governor Rick Perry decided that no government funds should be allowed to go to Planned Parenthood anyway, and tried to have them excluded from the funding. But Medicaid law mandates that a state may not restrict a patient’s choice of provider. So it was all or nothing, and Perry chose nothing.
Planned Parenthood is still reacting to this blow, and now offers its supporters the chance to send a letter of protest to Perry here. The org really is the only place that many women can receive high-quality, affordable health care. Since Planned Parenthood is one of the only places that makes this kind of health care accessible for low-income women, let’s do all we can to keep it around.
