Texas Passes Bill Banning Cities from Partnering With Planned Parenthood on Any Services
This article in The Texas Tribune.
One of this session鈥檚 biggest anti-abortion bills, which would ban state and local governments from partnering with agencies that perform abortions even if they contract for services not related to the procedure, is headed to the governor鈥檚 desk.
The Senate chamber agreed Friday with a change to made in the House chamber. The bill would prohibit the transfer of money to an abortion provider 鈥 but it would also bar the transfer of goods, services or anything that offers the provider 鈥渟omething of value derived from state or local tax revenue.鈥 Abortion opponents worry that any money directed to abortion providers could be used to promote the organization in other important ways, like to finance advertisements or open a new clinic. They criticized Planned Parenthood鈥檚 $1-per-year rental agreement with the city for its East Austin clinic, which they鈥檝e railed against as an unfair 鈥渟weetheart rent deal.鈥
鈥淭his bill just prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to support or prop up abortion providers,鈥 said state Sen. , R-New Braunfels, the bill鈥檚 author.
But SB 22 has been termed by critics as the 鈥渂iggest threat to Planned Parenthood this session.鈥 The measure would also apply to an affiliate of an abortion provider, so no Planned Parenthood clinics could partner with local governments 鈥 even clinics that don鈥檛 provide abortions. Critics of the bill consider it an attack on local control. They think it would prevent people from accessing important nonabortion services like sexually transmitted disease testing and birth control counseling. They say providers like Planned Parenthood are a key part of the health care safety net for low-income residents in a state that has the highest rate of uninsured adults in the country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sacrificing women and their health to achieve a political agenda by shutting down Planned Parenthood,鈥 said state Rep. , D-Austin.
When asked about some of bill鈥檚 impacts 鈥 like if it would block a local health department from passing out information from Planned Parenthood 鈥 Campbell said Friday she did not know the answer.
In the House, Rep. , R-Bedford, added an amendment that clarifies that the bill would not restrict a city or county from banning abortions. Campbell said the amendment is a 鈥渘eutral statement 鈥 that does absolutely nothing,鈥 so she agreed with his changes. The Senate voted to concur with Stickland鈥檚 amendment in a 20-10 vote.
House Bill 16, which would penalize doctors who fail to treat the extremely rare case of infants born alive after failed abortion attempts, is also headed to the governor's desk.
Meanwhile, other anti-abortion bills failed to meet key deadlines needed to make it to the governors' desk. That includes , which would have required women to , and , which would have prohibited women from getting the procedure because of a fetus' sex, race or disability. SB 1033 would also have removed the current exception that allows abortions after 20 weeks if the pregnancy is not viable or if the fetus has 鈥渟evere and irreversible鈥 abnormalities.
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