AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A Democratic lawmaker says she has evidence that state budget cuts led to 57 percent of the family planning clinics in Texas shutting down.
Houston Rep. Jessica Farrar said Monday she received the data on the clinics from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Texas had 281 family planning clinics operating in 2011, but after the Republican-controlled Legislature slashed funding for programs that provided contraception to poor women, 182 clinics shut their doors.
The Legislature cut $73 million in the 2012-2013 budget. But Health and Human Services Commissioner Kyle Janek testified last week that the cuts led to 11,000 unintended pregnancies among poor women. Those pregnancies cost the state's Medicaid program $103 million and $108 million.
Farrar is calling on the Legislature to restore funding for family planning.
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Posted: 05/08/13 - The Sherman Public Library is very excited about our upcoming Summer Reading Club for children and teens. Children ages birth-11 can Dig into Reading and join the Youth Summer Reading Club. The theme for the Teen Summer Reading Club this year is Beneath the Surface and it is open to teens ages 12-18. Read More
Posted: 05/07/13 - DURANT, Okla. – Regent Terry Matlock will deliver remarks at Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s Spring Commencement, scheduled for Saturday, May 11, at Paul Laird Field. The ceremony (for all schools) will begin at 10 a.m. A reception will follow at 11:30 a.m. in the Visual & Performing Arts Center. Read More
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