In the past, even if the state cut women’s health funding, groups like Planned Parenthood of North Texas would know by now how much money they could expect to receive for the next year.
This year’s different, of course. Along with cuts to women’s health care funding, the Texas Legislature charged the Department of State Health Services with putting Planned Parenthood last in line for family planning funds, behind state and local hospitals, and other clinics.
As the Texas Independent reported last week, Central Texas clinics have been bracing for the uncertain effects of the Legislature’s $74 million in cuts to the $111 million program. While Austin-area anti-abortion access groups celebrate the damage to “abortion-minded” health care providers, clinic managers say low-income and rural patients will be affected most, losing access to care like cancer screenings and contraception.
On Friday, DSHS announced how it’s allocating its next round of funding — but only through December 1.
“And then we don’t have a clue what toe expect after that — so it’s very hard to plan how we’re going to provide care for patients,” said Kelly Hart, public affairs director for Planned Parenthood of North Texas. She said they’d been told to expect $500,000 for the next three months, “about half of what we would’ve received in previous quarters.” It’s possible even that is a step down to lower funding once the state decides how to prioritize family planning programs.
Planned Parenthood of North Texas has anticipated slimmer budgets by shuttering clinics where they served fewer patients, or where they had another location nearby, including state-funded health centers in Waxahachie, Gainesville and Sherman. Hart said they have plans to close four more.
That Sherman clinic, north of Dallas, was the site of a rally last weekend by the anti-choice group 40 Days for Life. As the Dallas Observer reported, it was also celebrated that clinic’s former manager, Ramona Trevino, as a latter-day Abby Johnson, for quitting her job after deciding abortion should not be legal.
“I walked out of this job on Friday May 6,” Trevino said, according to the Observer. “And I never have looked back since. My message is to glorify God. I really want this day to be about the power of prayer… This place is out of business, and it’s all because of God.”
Holly Morgan, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of North Texas, told the Texas Independent that Sherman clinic had been slated for closure for months, as part of a general reorganization, because it hadn’t been serving as many patients as some others nearby. “They’re free to say whatever they like,” she said, “but they take credit for a lot of things.”
Still, Morgan wondered why the groups would rally around the closure of a clinic that only provided health care, not abortions. “That location was all preventive care — it was life-saving pap smears, it was flu shots, birth control and family panning counseling,” Morgan said.
“Nobody likes abortions, we’re doing everything we can to prevent the need for it,” Morgan said. “We’re also a state that’s being sued for not taking care of the children in its foster care.”
After Planned Parenthood’s scheduled closures, seven state-funded clinics will be left open in North Texas, Hart said. “We’re kind of playing it on a month-to-month basis,” she said.
They’re relying on donations to make up for the shortfall in funding for low-income patients without insurance. At the same time, though, Hart said, they’re focusing on opening new clinics that are self-sustaining. “We’re positioning ourselves to be more available for the clients who can afford to pay out of pocket,” she said.
While anti-choice coverage often focuses on how many of the group’s sites have closed, Hart said they’re not the ones hit hardest by Texas’ new laws. “We’re doing well,” she said. “Planned Parenthood of North Texas will be here for another 75 years. But our clients, some of them will find they don’t have anywhere to go for health care.”
