You might remember that the State of Texas was fighting in Federal Court to be able to ban subsidies for any organization associated with abortion providers. A Federal judge in Austin, placed an injunction requiring funding to continue until the pending lawsuit was settled. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned this in August, ruling that the lawsuit was not likely to be successful. Rick Perry was thrilled! This of course hit low income women directly for any Health Services provided in Texas by…Planned Parenthood.
Well, the effects are now measurable and described in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, September 27, 2012 Vol. 367 No. 13.
From the Texas Tribune: Family Planning Cuts Caused 53 Clinics to Close
As a result of the funding cuts, 53 out of 240 clinics that have received public funding to provide family planning have closed, and 38 have reduced service hours, according to the report. In addition, the report states, many clinics are now charging for services that were previously free, raising prices for other services and restricting access to more effective methods of contraception that are more expensive.
The report, which was produced by sociologists at the Population Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin as part of a three-year study of the impact of budget cuts to family planning services in Texas.
From the New England Journal of Medicine:
Ostensibly, the purpose of the law was to defund Planned Parenthood in an attempt to limit access to abortion, even though federal and state funding cannot be used for abortion care anyway. Instead, these policies are limiting women's access to a range of preventive reproductive health services and screenings.
We are witnessing the dismantling of a safety net that took decades to build and could not easily be recreated even if funding were restored soon.
We have a long way to go down here in Texas and unfortunately we have taken a few steps backwards.
You can donate to PP here
A few more requests beyond the fold
We need better Democrats in Texas too. This is a call to help turn Texas blue.
Texans, this is for you but anyone can give.
and
I think Paul Sadler can help, will you help him?
None of us need Ted Cruz in the Senate:
Sadler says Cruz would limit women’s access to birth control