Protesters rally in the rotunda of the State Capitol as the state Senate meets to consider legislation restricting abortion rights in Austin, Texas July 12, 2013. Texas on Friday is poised to enact a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, ending a bitter political fight that stirred national debate over what critics see as laws threatening the right to abortion in the United States. REUTERS/Mike Stone
Low-income women in Texas have it even tougher now, thanks to a new law passed over the weekend.
Reports Salon, “Following a federal appeals court ruling on Friday that will leave the state with just nine abortion clinics, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a budget proposal that will effectively oust Planned Parenthood from Texas’ Breast and Cervical Cancer Services program, which provides cancer screenings for uninsured, low-income women.”
If this move doesn’t make it clear that the far right’s fight against abortion access has complete disregard for the value of women’s lives, I don’t know what more to say.
Abbott’s anticipated move marks a win for Texas conservatives, who have tried repeatedly to eliminate all taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood in an effort to further reduce abortion access in the state. The organization has already been targeted with regard to cancer screenings before, with state lawmakers prohibiting the nearly two dozen clinics involved in the screening program from accepting taxpayer dollars if they also provide abortion services. In accordance with the budget provision the governor signed off on Saturday, any clinics affiliated with abortion providers will no longer receive funding for cancer screening services.
“It’s really incredible how low the governor and some of the state legislators will go when you start throwing women out of cancer screening programs and making it impossible for them to continue to go get services where they have before,” Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards told the Texas Tribune.
I’m a longtime supporter of Planned Parenthood, and you can join me by donating here.
Read more at Salon: “Another attack on poor women: Texas ousts Planned Parenthood from cancer screening program.”