Today, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes released the following statement in response to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest politically motivated lawsuit, filed yesterday in the Western District of Texas - Midland Division against the Biden Administration.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn guidance that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided to retail pharmacies that take Medicaid or Medicare, reminding them of their responsibility under federal law to provide prescribed medication without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
This guidance was particularly essential in light of increasing reports of people in states with abortion bans struggling to access essential medication like methotrexate, which is used to treat medical conditions completely unrelated to abortion.
The following statement can be attributed to Drucilla Tigner, Deputy Director of Strategic Campaigns and Partnerships at Planned Parenthood Texas Votes:
"Ken Paxton continues his relentless assault on people's health and rights through the federal courts in a new lawsuit filed yesterday against the Biden Administration. This is far from the first time Paxton has weaponized the legal system to achieve his unpopular political agenda: In another case, he is trying to shut down Planned Parenthood health centers in Texas through a meritless lawsuit that seeks nearly $2 billion in punitive damages.
“Paxton isn’t satisfied with Texas’s three abortion bans — and, according to him, HHS’s reminder that pharmacies must comply with federal anti-discrimination law constitutes a 'radical abortion agenda.' What's really radical is a state with the nation's worst uninsured rates and abysmal maternal and infant health outcomes ruthlessly attacking people's access to essential health care."
Read more about attacks on sexual and reproductive health care through the courts here.
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