Arizona Republicans Just Launched a Last-Minute Attack on Planned Parenthood
We're almost at the end of the legislative session, and, just under the wire, state lawmakers have introduced an attack on Planned Parenthood that could have potentially disastrous consequences for women in Arizona.
Tuesday, Republicans in both the House and the Senate introduced bills seeking to change who gets to control the distribution of Title X funds, which pay for things like birth control, cancer screenings, well-woman exams, fertility and pregnancy care, and testing for sexually transmitted infections. A similar provision is also buried in the proposed state budget for next year.
Currently, that funding from the federal government goes directly to the nonprofit Arizona Family Health Partnership, which in turn distributes it to family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood.
But if the state Legislature gets its way, that money (which, on average, adds up to $5 million a year) would go instead to the state's Department of Health Services, which is prohibited by law from contracting with abortion providers.
Read more: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-republicans-launch-last-minute-attack-on-planned-parenthoods-title-x-funding-9299217
