Planned Parenthood has managed to stay open in Texas despite the state’s best efforts to shut it down. But a lawsuit in front of a conservative judge poses an existential threat.
It’s the name. PP and abortions are tied together in the minds of conservative voters, whether or not that particular branch provides abortion services. Texas legislature wants to burn down PP at all costs.
But then, Texas did something no other state had tried yet: It walked away from about $30 million in annual federal funds rather than allow Planned Parenthood to continue to provide contraception to low-income women. In 2013, Texas launched its own women’s health program, relying entirely on state dollars.
Texas’ reproductive health care landscape never recovered from this tornado, even when the state tried to make up the lost funding in future sessions.
It’s the name. PP and abortions are tied together in the minds of conservative voters, whether or not that particular branch provides abortion services. Texas legislature wants to burn down PP at all costs.