Abortion Fight in Texas Threatens Women’s Health Care Options

A fight over abortion in Texas could lead to a shutdown of a major women’s health care program. Texas’s federally-funded Women’s Health Program serves 130,000 women who don’t meet strict Medicaid eligibility requirements. The program also supports many clinics, including branches of Planned Parenthood. But Republican lawmakers who don’t want Planned Parenthood to get any funding say they will give up 35 million dollars in federal money – effectively shutting down the program. For many low-income Texas women, that would mean the loss of access to the only health care services they have. Pam Belluck  is a  reporter for our partner The New York Times.