speak the truth, even if your voice shakes

But eliminating Title X funding and putting Planned Parenthood out of the business of providing preventative health care to Medicaid patients is not about fiscal responsibility. It makes no fiscal sense to stop investing in programs that have a proven track record in saving money, and saving lives. Quite simply, without the care Planned Parenthood provides - without access to Pap smears, pelvic exams and breast exams - women will die.

African-American women tend to have more chronic illness and disease. So in terms of having just basic health maintenance and well-woman care, when women get a general health assessment and exam, many things get discovered, like undiagnosed hypertension and diabetes and all of those basic primary health care needs. Usually, Planned Parenthood helps get that patient to someone who manages chronic illness. So 15 percent of our patients are African-American women. Many are often uninsured, and programs like Medicaid and Title X allow those women to have access to basic health screenings.

If they didn’t have Planned Parenthood, where they could come to be seen on a sliding scale, or where we might be the only agency in their region that takes Medicaid, or where many African-American women have their medical home, you are destabilizing the safety net that many people of color rely on. A hit on Planned Parenthood really becomes a hit for African-American women.