Planned Parenthood Under Attack
Last week I was visiting Washington D.C. on vacation and was inspired to see activists from all over the country gathered for a Planned Parenthood conference and Capitol Day. As I walked around sightseeing in the nearly 100-degree heat, it was inspiring to see groups of teens, men, and women with their pink T-shirts and bags reading “I Stand with Planned Parenthood.”
But it was particularly disheartening when I returned home to Connecticut at the end of the week and logged onto my computer to read that my home state of New Hampshire had, in the words of one writer , “lost its damn mind and defunded Planned Parenthood.” Indeed, the New Hampshire Executive Council voted to cancel the state's contract with Planned Parenthood and rejected up to $1.8 million in state funding, which is 20 percent of Planned Parenthood’s total annual funding. The Council also stripped Planned Parenthood’s authority to dispense low-cost birth control and antibiotics to uninsured patients. The New Hampshire legislature rejected efforts during the 2011 legislative session to defund Planned Parenthood, but the Executive Council overturned that decision and that of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services with a 3-2 vote.
The Huffington Post article article provided some insight as to the effect the defunding will have on their patients, many of whom are low-income women:
"We can't even provide patients with antibiotics for urinary tract infections or STDs anymore," said Jennifer Frizzell, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. She said Planned Parenthood has had to turn away 20 to 30 patients a day who are showing up to refill their prescriptions. "We have to send them away with a prescription knowing that without insurance, they have to pay the full cost of that at a local pharmacy, and many patients have told us they're not gonna have the money in their budget to afford to fill those prescriptions."
The federal government has warned New Hampshire that it must have statewide access to family planning or risk losing $1.4 million in federal funds allocated to the state. But this is not just happening in New Hampshire. GOP lawmakers in Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Kansas have also defunded Planned Parenthood in their 2011 legislative sessions because some of the organization's clinics provide abortions, and at least two other states are moving to do the same. (Huffington Post article)
A post on the web site Jezebel.com noted that Councilors voted to defund because some clinics provide abortions, even though those abortions are privately funded. And one councilor was quoted by The Concord Monitor as saying that he opposed funding for birth control and condoms altogether. “"If they want to have a good time, why not let them pay for it?" said Councilor Raymond Wieczorek of Manchester.
I am proud to live in a state whose elected representatives support Planned Parenthood and that our legislature has not made an assault on an organization that provides such critical services for so many. Fortunately we can say that, here in Connecticut, we stand with Planned Parenthood.
But it was particularly disheartening when I returned home to Connecticut at the end of the week and logged onto my computer to read that my home state of New Hampshire had, in the words of one writer , “lost its damn mind and defunded Planned Parenthood.” Indeed, the New Hampshire Executive Council voted to cancel the state's contract with Planned Parenthood and rejected up to $1.8 million in state funding, which is 20 percent of Planned Parenthood’s total annual funding. The Council also stripped Planned Parenthood’s authority to dispense low-cost birth control and antibiotics to uninsured patients. The New Hampshire legislature rejected efforts during the 2011 legislative session to defund Planned Parenthood, but the Executive Council overturned that decision and that of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services with a 3-2 vote.
The Huffington Post article article provided some insight as to the effect the defunding will have on their patients, many of whom are low-income women:
"We can't even provide patients with antibiotics for urinary tract infections or STDs anymore," said Jennifer Frizzell, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. She said Planned Parenthood has had to turn away 20 to 30 patients a day who are showing up to refill their prescriptions. "We have to send them away with a prescription knowing that without insurance, they have to pay the full cost of that at a local pharmacy, and many patients have told us they're not gonna have the money in their budget to afford to fill those prescriptions."
The federal government has warned New Hampshire that it must have statewide access to family planning or risk losing $1.4 million in federal funds allocated to the state. But this is not just happening in New Hampshire. GOP lawmakers in Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Kansas have also defunded Planned Parenthood in their 2011 legislative sessions because some of the organization's clinics provide abortions, and at least two other states are moving to do the same. (Huffington Post article)
A post on the web site Jezebel.com noted that Councilors voted to defund because some clinics provide abortions, even though those abortions are privately funded. And one councilor was quoted by The Concord Monitor as saying that he opposed funding for birth control and condoms altogether. “"If they want to have a good time, why not let them pay for it?" said Councilor Raymond Wieczorek of Manchester.
I am proud to live in a state whose elected representatives support Planned Parenthood and that our legislature has not made an assault on an organization that provides such critical services for so many. Fortunately we can say that, here in Connecticut, we stand with Planned Parenthood.
No comments:
Post a Comment