Texas, One of Nation's Worst States for Gender Equality, Slashes Planned Parenthood Contracts
Texas is canceling its Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood affiliates, The Houston Chronicle reported on Monday.
The move, according to critics, is a highly political one that hinders the organization’s ability to provide essential preventative care services for women, including breast cancer screenings and HIV testing for low-income people who qualify for Medicaid.
The decision comes in the wake of a series of heavily-edited videos released by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress which purported to show Planned Parenthood employees pedaling fetal tissue for medical research. Investigations in multiple states have found that Planned Parenthood clinics had not illegally handled tissues.
In a letter that was sent to every affiliate of Planned Parenthood in Texas, the state health department’s inspector general Stuart Bowen wrote:
“The State has determined that you and your Planned Parenthood affiliates are no longer capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal and ethical manner.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a pro-life politician who has been referred to as “public enemy number one for women in Texas,” immediately praised the move, calling it “another step in providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable – the unborn.”
Texas put $310,000 towards Planned Parenthood in 2015. In unrelated news, Texas was also ranked the fourth worst state in the nation for gender equality.
