Planned Parenthood Texas Votes Issues Statement in Response to Anti-Abortion Amendment Added to HB 12 

Austin, TX - Last night at 10:20 pm, while most Texans were sound asleep, Republicans in the Texas Senate quietly added an anti-abortion amendment to House Bill 12 – a bill intended to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to 12 months. The amendment by anti-abortion Senator Lois Kolkhorst excludes people who get an abortion from receiving the extended postpartum Medicaid coverage. 

The following statement can be attributed to Drucilla Tigner, Co-Executive Director Planned Parenthood Texas Votes:

“The Senate’s late night, last-minute addition of an amendment with anti-abortion language is a clear attempt to punish Texans who need to access abortion. They are, once again, playing politics with our lives in order to score cheap points with their extremist base. 

“Pregnant Texans already face unprecedented challenges to accessing quality health care. Texas has the country's highest rate of uninsured people of reproductive age, with almost 1 in 5 Texans uninsured. A recent study found that Texans without private-pay insurance coverage faced the highest rates of severe maternal morbidity. This politically-driven Senate amendment is a clear indication that they do not equally value the lives of all Texans. The Texas Legislature must stop playing games with the health care of people in need and start working to improve it.”

 ###

Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (PPTV) is the nonpartisan policy, advocacy and political arm for the Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas.