Senate may cut Planned Parenthood funding
As I'm sure most of you in the US know, the government is in danger of shut down if a budget isn't passed tonight. Republicans in the Senate are taking advantage of this to try and cut federal funding of Planned Parenthood and Title X.
Just to be clear, there is NO federal funding of abortion. If they succeed, what will be cut is women's health services, STD and cancer screening, family planning and contraception and it will disproportionately affect low-income women. Abortion services only make up 3% of the care PP provides. According to Senator Leahy (my senator ♥):
Around the country, one out of every four women of reproductive age has received care from a Planned Parenthood health center at some point in her life and even more strikingly, six in ten women who access care from a family planning health center, like Planned Parenthood, consider it to be their main source of health care. Eliminating funding for the Title X Family planning program and Planned Parenthood would put tens of thousands of Vermonters' and millions of Americans' health care in jeopardy.
What can you do? Sign the Planned Parenthood petition and call your senator's office. You can also get the phone numbers for all your representatives on the NOW website.
ETA: US Troops will have paychecks withheld if the government shuts down. Damn. This is basically politicians gaming the budget process and who will suffer for it? Soldiers and their families.
Just to be clear, there is NO federal funding of abortion. If they succeed, what will be cut is women's health services, STD and cancer screening, family planning and contraception and it will disproportionately affect low-income women. Abortion services only make up 3% of the care PP provides. According to Senator Leahy (my senator ♥):
Around the country, one out of every four women of reproductive age has received care from a Planned Parenthood health center at some point in her life and even more strikingly, six in ten women who access care from a family planning health center, like Planned Parenthood, consider it to be their main source of health care. Eliminating funding for the Title X Family planning program and Planned Parenthood would put tens of thousands of Vermonters' and millions of Americans' health care in jeopardy.
What can you do? Sign the Planned Parenthood petition and call your senator's office. You can also get the phone numbers for all your representatives on the NOW website.
ETA: US Troops will have paychecks withheld if the government shuts down. Damn. This is basically politicians gaming the budget process and who will suffer for it? Soldiers and their families.