This first-hand story about a couple seeking an abortion in Texas is both soul-crushing and indicative of how horrific anti-woman laws have become. Everything we've been discussing here is illustrated in candid detail.
Clearly, in a growing number of states, Republican governors and legislatures are crow-barring their backwards laws into the most devastating decision anyone can make.
And how dare they.
Adding... More bad news for women in Texas:
The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that it will cut off all Medicaid funding for family planning to the state of Texas, following Gov. Rick Perry's (R) decision to implement a new law that excludes Planned Parenthood from the state's Medicaid Women's Health Program.
Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMSO), wrote Texas health officials a letter on Thursday explaining that the state broke federal Medicaid rules by discriminating against qualified family planning providers and thus would be losing the entire program, which provides cancer screenings, contraceptives and basic health care to 130,000 low-income women each year.
"We very much regret the state's decision to implement this rule, which will prevent women enrolled in the program from receiving services from the trusted health care providers they have chosen and relied upon for their care," she wrote. "In light of Texas' actions, CMS is not in a position to extend or renew the current [Medicaid contract]."