Federal Appeals Court Allows Kansas to Block Women’s Access to Health Care
For Immediate Release: March 25, 2014
“These doors will stay open,” Planned Parenthood Action Fund says
New York — Despite the desperate need for affordable health care in Kansas, today a federal court of appeals allowed the State of Kansas to disqualify Planned Parenthood patients from accessing birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, and other preventive care through the federal Title X family planning program. Prior to this ruling, Planned Parenthood’s nonprofit health centers in Kansas cared for more than 5,700 people each year through the Title X program.
Following is a statement from Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:
“Regardless of what happens in the courts, Planned Parenthood will be here for the women and men who rely on us and we will continue to fight for them – no matter what. Planned Parenthood’s doors remain open in Kansas and in more than 700 health centers across the country. We will explore every possible option to protect the health of women in Kansas.
“What’s clear is that for lasting change, we need new leadership at the state level – to prevent these cruel and dangerous laws from passing in the first place. That’s why Planned Parenthood Action Fund has boots on the ground in all 50 states, to ensure that a woman’s access to reproductive health care and her rights don’t depend on her zip code.”
Background
- One in five women in the U.S. has relied on a Planned Parenthood health center at least once in her life.
- Planned Parenthood health centers see 2.1 million patients for birth control, conduct 550,000 breast exams, and provide nearly 4.5 million STI tests/treatments annually.
- More than 90 percent of the services Planned Parenthood health centers provide are preventive (cancer screenings, STI tests, birth control, etc.).
- Federal funds cannot be used for abortion services at Planned Parenthood health centers. Since 1976, Congress has barred federal funding for abortion under the Medicaid program through the Hyde Amendment. The only exceptions are in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the life of the woman.
- Title X provides preventive health care for low-income and uninsured women, including lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, and HIV tests. Family planning is cost-effective, curbs health care costs and saves taxpayers money—for every $1 spent on contraceptives, $5.68 is saved.
- Among women who seek care at a family planning provider like Planned Parenthood, more than six in 10 consider it their primary source of medical care.
- Planned Parenthood health centers care for more than a third of all U.S. women receiving preventive care at a Title X-funded health center.