Planned Parenthood Action Fund to Kick off “Stand with TX Women” Tour in Austin
For Immediate Release: July 8, 2013
Will Hold Press Conference to Announce Bus Tour Traveling Across the State To Highlight Dangerous Legislation Being Pushed in Capitol
[Austin, TX] — On Tuesday at 9:30 AM, Planned Parenthood Action Fund is holding a press conference at the State Capitol in Austin, kicking off the statewide Stand with Texas Women tour. Over the next week, the group is holding events around the state with community members and medical leaders who urge the state legislature to protect women’s health.
WHO: Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Sen. Wendy Davis
Sen. Kirk Watson
Rep. Jessica Farrar
Dr. Christina Sebestyen, ob/gyn, MD
Amy Kamp, uninsured Texas woman who relies on Planned Parenthood for care
Lesli Simms, student who recently graduated from St. Edwards University
WHEN: 9:30 AM on Tuesday, July 9, 2013
WHERE: East Side of the Texas State Capitol, 112 E 11th St, Austin, TX 78701
WHY: Texas has the nation’s highest rate of those without health insurance for fifth straight year according to Gallup, and ranks near the bottom in terms of women receiving prenatal care.
•Policies put in place by Governor Rick Perry and the state legislature have already forced more than 55 women’s health centers to shut their doors; these health centers provided lifesaving cancer screenings, birth control, STD testing, and basic preventive health care.
•As a direct result of Perry’s actions, more than 130,000 women a year in Texas are no longer able to get medical care, because their visit to a women’s health center was the only health care they received.
•If the legislation currently being considered during the special session of the State Legislature passes, dozens more health centers will shut their doors.
•The Texas Hospital Association, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Texas District of ACOG, and individual doctors across the state strongly oppose this bill.