Gov. to block legislative attempts to defund Planned Parenthood
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he will attempts by the GOP-led General Assembly to block state funding for Planned Parenthood.
The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates voted along party lines to eliminate funding that allows Planned Parenthood to provide thousands of Virginians with reproductive health care services like STI testing, sex education, and family planning.
“Governor McAuliffe has been a wonderful leader,” said Cianti Stewart-Reid, executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. “He said he would be a brick wall to ensure women’s health centers stay open and that women in the commonwealth have the access to the care they need and deserve. He has been wonderful on this issue and we know he will continue his commitment to the women of Virginia.”
The bill, 1090 passed out of a state Senate committee in narrow 8-7 vote on March 3.
In February, the House passed a bill to prohibit the Virginia Department of Health from funding clinics that provide abortions except in the case of rape or incest or if the mother’s life is endangered.
“At a time when women in Virginia need greater access to care, republicans in the General Assembly are using their time and resources to target health care programs at a trusted community health care provider,” Stewart-Reid said. “We want to assure the women, men and young people of the Commonwealth that we will be here to provide them care, no matter what.”
If the bill were to become law, 1,300 people in Richmond could lose access to STI testing. The bill would restrict access to basic health care services statewide for the 22,000 Virginia residents who utilize on Planned Parenthood health centers every year.
“Long term consequences are people who come to Planned Parenthood because they know they’re going to get high quality care that’s nonjudgemental with compationate providers,” Stewart-Reid said.
Generation Action at VCU’s provides students with medically-accurate information to encourage them to make healthy decisions regarding their sexual health and wellness, as well as advocating for access to affordable basic healthcare and essential reproductive health care.
The VCU Generation Action chapter worked to organize students to sign a petition against the bill.
“We believe that the bill is not in the best interest of Virginians and supports a deeply insidious political attack,” said Niyah White, president of Generation Action at VCU.
President of the Virginia Family Foundation, Victoria Cobb, told NBC 29 she is a proponent of Bill 1090.
“What this bill does is it takes good funds and puts them towards other great organizations that do full, comprehensive healthcare for women,” Cobb said. “There’s 140 federally-qualified health centers that provide much more comprehensive care and is a better use of our tax dollars.”
According Planned Parenthood advocates of VA, Planned Parenthood provides birth control, cancer screenings, annual exams, and other high-quality health care services to 2.5 million people a year at nearly 650 nonprofit health centers nationwide. At some point in their lives, one in five women in America will turn to Planned Parenthood for care.
Morgan, who asked for her last name to be retained, is a Planned Parenthood patient in Richmond who said she can’t imagine what she would do without the organization’s service.
“I am just one of millions who depends on Planned Parenthood health centers across Virginia and around the country,” Morgan said. “Our state legislators should stand up for this incredible healthcare provider rather than attempting to defund it and leaving me and thousands of individuals across Virginia without the care we need.”
Staff Writer, Sophia Belletti
Sophia is a sophomore print/online journalism major with a minor in gender, sexuality and women’s studies. She enjoys writing about current events and sports and hopes to one day be a sports reporter, covering soccer, basketball and baseball. You can usually find Sophia drinking way too much coffee and laughing at her own jokes. // Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
