Planned Parenthood Struggles After State Budget Cuts

Mirroring a national trend, Texas is cutting back on funding for organizations that perform abortions or refer women to providers that do, even when most or all of the organization’s services are primary or preventive care.

When state cuts to family planning services took effect in September, the eight-clinic network of the Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County (PPAHC) lost a $3.1 million contract, shuttered four of its facilities, and laid off half its staff.

In 2010, the network served 23,000 mostly low-income or uninsured patients, providing contraception, STD testing, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and wellness exams for women and men, but not abortions. “Basically, we are their doctors,” said Patricio Gonzales, CEO of PPAHC.

Gonzales estimates the closings will affect 16,000 low-income men, women, and children in the Rio Grande Valley. PPAHC in September received a one-time $113,000 state award after two other agencies rejected the money, allowing it to treat about 650 patients. But it is not enough to keep open its clinics in Mission, Progreso, Rio Grande City, and San Carlos. Clients will have to now travel longer distances for care, or they might stop seeking services altogether, Gonzales fears.

Planned Parenthood says 66 of its Texas clinics remain open, though their hours and outreach have been cut. Eleven clinics are receiving state support, down from 40 last year. The Legislature this year cut the state’s family planning budget by two-thirds, to $37.9 million over the next two years from $111.5 million. Budget analysts warned this would affect at least 180,000 men and women and could lead to more than 20,000 additional births at a cost of more than $200 million.

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