For Texas Lawmakers, ALL Family Planning = Abortion

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Texas already has a law that bans state funding for any group that provides or promotes abortion. But that hasn’t stopped conservative lawmakers from attempting to end state-funded reproductive health counseling in the name of saving unborn fetuses. State Rep. Bill Zedler has won an amendment to the Texas budget that would reduce funding for “family planning services,” a move that he says is intended to defund “the abortion industry.”

Family planning services, offered in Texas by groups such as Planned Parenthood, include gynecological exams, birth control counseling, HIV and cancer screening, and pregnancy testing. Supported by generous matching funds from the federal government, the services are believed to save $4 in government costs for every dollar spent. Under Texas law, no clinic that participates in state family planning services may offer or promote abortions.

Republicans in Texas (and in Washington) are going after family planning as way to defund Planned Parenthood, which, separately, also happens to operate abortion clinics. But that’s a strange way to defund “the abortion industry.” It might actually accomplish the opposite. If funding goes down for birth control and pregnancy counseling, abortion providers could find themselves in higher demand.

H/T Texas Tribune

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY...

Trump is clamping down on the media—using lawsuits, lies, intimidation, and a thuggish Federal Communications Commission. Corporate media are caving, but Mother Jones won’t back down. To help us stand strong, a generous board member has chipped in a $50,000 digital matching gift. Help us make the most of it before the deadline!

Until midnight TONIGHT, every contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

We have nearly 50 years of experience standing up to bullies. Government intimidation, nuisance lawsuits, threats to our nonprofit status—we’ve seen it all. Yet because we’re supported by a community of readers like you, we’re still here and still reporting like hell. Please stand with us. Every dollar you give will go twice as far.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY...

Trump is clamping down on the media—using lawsuits, lies, intimidation, and a thuggish Federal Communications Commission. Corporate media are caving, but Mother Jones won’t back down. To help us stand strong, a generous board member has chipped in a $50,000 digital matching gift. Help us make the most of it before the deadline!

Until midnight TONIGHT, every contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

We have nearly 50 years of experience standing up to bullies. Government intimidation, nuisance lawsuits, threats to our nonprofit status—we’ve seen it all. Yet because we’re supported by a community of readers like you, we’re still here and still reporting like hell. Please stand with us. Every dollar you give will go twice as far.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate