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Texas Health Fund In Jeopardy Because Of Abortion Politics

(Carrie Feibel/KUHF Public Radio)
Texas is in a stand-off with the federal government over a program that provides contraception and reproductive check-ups for low-income Texas women. A new Texas rule would exclude Planned Parenthood clinics from participating, even though the program has nothing to do with abortion.

In Texas, poor women can’t usually get Medicaid unless they’re already pregnant. So five years ago, Texas partnered with the federal government to create the Women’s Health Program. Stephanie Goodman is with the state department of Health and Human Services. She says every year the program helps 130,000 Texas women get contraception, and breast and cervical cancer screenings.

“Because a woman who is pregnant can qualify for Medicaid services at a certain income level, but the woman at the same income level previously couldn’t get family planning services. So we wanted to expand that to those women.”

Jonee Longoria of Houston used the program when she went back to school to get a bachelor’s degree in her thirties. “The women’s health program was, I think, a godsend for me.” Longoria already had one daughter and she knew that it wasn’t the right time to have another child, but paying for the pill was hard.

“I have one child living in poverty, I don’t want another one living in poverty, so I was able to turn those tables and turn our lives around and that felt great. But I know a lot of that was through WHP and not having another unintended, unplanned pregnancy to worry about.” But now the program’s fate is unknown.
(See the full story at KUHF Public Radio)

State Coverage:
Texas Lawmakers Split on Saving Women’s Health Program
(Texas Tribune)

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