If You Thought the Reproductive-Health Crisis in Texas Couldn’t Get Worse, Well…
Texas Governor Greg Abbot has come up with a bad fix for a problem that doesn’t exist. On Monday, state officials announced they would follow the lead of Louisiana and a handful of other states by cutting off reimbursements to Planned Parenthood for services provided to patients with Medicaid. If that happens, the state’s poorest women—specifically, mothers who make less than 19 percent of the federal poverty level—will have fewer options for obtaining contraception, cancer screenings, and tests for sexually transmitted infections.
Texas’ move comes in response to the series of edited undercover videos released in recent months by the Center for Medical Progress, an anti-abortion group that claims Planned Parenthood profits illegally from sales of fetal tissue. In a letter sent to Planned Parenthood’s Texas affiliates, the Health and Human Services Commission cited the videos as evidence of “numerous acts of misconduct,” and accused the organization of fraud. In an announcement of the termination of the Medicaid contract, Abbot said, “The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed in Texas and the barbaric practice must be brought to an end.”
More: If You Thought the Reproductive-Health Crisis in Texas Couldn’t Get Worse, Well…