| Don't mess with Texas women!
 That's the rallying cry of the bus tour across Texas that Planned Parenthood is embarking on to show Governor Rick Perry and the Republican legislature how mad they've made Texans with their draconian cuts to the women's health.
The Republican War on Women is making national headlines, and as always, everything's bigger in Texas -- even the efforts to deny women basic preventative care, access to birth control, or the right to choose.
Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of women's care to low-income women in Texas, is hitting the streets and mobilizing women and the people who care about them to fight back.
In a press statement, Planned Parenthood writes (emphasis mine):
More than one-quarter of Texas women are uninsured, and women in Texas have the third-highest rate of cervical cancer in the U.S., yet Texas Governor Rick Perry is effectively sabotaging the entire Medicaid Women's Health Program, risking the health and lives of more than 130,000 women who rely on the program for lifesaving screenings for breast and cervical cancer, birth control, screenings for diabetes and hypertension, well-woman exams and more.
Perhaps even more shocking, this is just the latest move Texas officials have made to deny health care to women. In the last few months, budget cuts passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Perry cut the state's family planning program by more than two-thirds - which will take health care from 160,000 women per year. These cuts also affect services including Pap tests, clinical breast exams, and birth control.
Stand with women and families and stand with Planned Parenthood as they stand up to these outrageous cuts in women's healthcare here in Texas.
Here's a schedule of bus events planned for today, Tuesday March 6:
San Marcos -- 2:00 pm @ LBJ and Sessom, 700 North LBJ. Join Planned Parenthood as they visit a closed family planning clinic near the Texas State campus.
UT Campus -- 3:30pm -- 2200 Block of Guadalupe. Join Planned Parenthood as they engage UT students just outside of campus.
Texas Capital -- 5:00 p.m. -- 1100 Congress Ave. Join Planned Parenthood at the Capitol as they take their message directly to the so-called "leaders" who want to deny women basic access to healthcare.
Can't make it? Follow along on their website www.DontMessWithTexasWomen.org or on Twitter with the hashtag #DontmesswithTXWomen. |
