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Sunday, February 26th, 2012

Texas Axes Health Programs for Women

Author:     KATE SHEPPARD
Source:     Mother Jones
Publication Date:     Fri Feb. 24, 2012 2:08 PM PST
 Link: Texas Axes Health Programs for Women
Stephan:   This is part of the war on women, and there are so many of these stories now there is a selection. I chose this one from several possibles because this Texas event shows that it is not about money; it is about the status and power of women. Think about this: Cancer is an enormously expensive disease, with a high rate of bad outcomes. From a fiscal conservative's perspective cancer screenings are orders of magnitude cheaper than cancer treatment. So why is a policy that eliminates screenings, and supports increased cancer, being passed? It cannot be a fiscal argument. Instead it is one of social values. And why is this so gender specific? Again the answer is social values. Laws like this sacrifice national wellness to an amalgam of theology and ideology. Is social self-mutilation really what we want?

In the latest dispatch from the Republican war on Planned Parenthood, on Thursday the administration of Texas Gov. Rick Perry enacted a new rule banning state funds from going to any health center at all affiliated with anyone who offers abortions. The measure would effectively end the Women’s Health Program in the state, because federal law prohibits states from discriminating against specific providers in the allocation of Medicaid.

The Texas Tribune reports that the move bans Planned Parenthood clinics and other ‘affiliates of abortion providers’ from taking part in the program:

The rule, signed by Commissioner Tom Suehs on Thursday, takes effect March 14. Unless some last-minute agreement is brokered, the program, which receives $9 in federal funds for every $1 in state funds, will be either phased out or cut off by the end of March. At least 130,000 poor Texas women will lose access to cancer screenings, well-woman exams and contraception.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richard said Perry has again ‘chosen politics over the lives of Texas women.’ This isn’t the first time the Perry administration has cut women’s health programs; last year, the governor and legislature axed two-thirds of the budget for those […]

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