More Than 3,000 Women In El Paso County Could Lose Access To Health Care

Last month the Texas Health and Human Services Commission finalized a rule banning affiliates of abortion providers from getting funds from women’s health programs now that rule has gone into effect.

While hundreds of protesters rally to express their anger in the state capitol, according to a Women’s Health Program memo, more than 3,000 women in El Paso County could end up without access to healthcare.

The WHP provides low income women with free birth control, mammograms, gynecological exams and even cancer screenings through Texas Medicaid.

Wednesday that funding dries up as Texas officals put into effect a policy to cut funding not just from clincs that perform abortions, but also those that are affiliated in some way with abortion providers.

State representative Marisa Marquez said its a decision based on passion, not logic.

“Just shooting from the hip and talking about abortion and immediately eliminating funding with that trigger word was, I think, extremely dangerous,” said Marquez.

Marquez insisted it’s the women living n the borderland that will suffer, “We already have a huge uninsured population here in El Paso, this is just going to make it even more difficult for women to access healthcare and preventative screenings.”

The state law could cut off more than 100,000 women state-wide from vital healthcare procedures, but Texas Health and Human Services spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said that won’t happen.

“Governor Perry has said that if the Federal Government tries to cut off the funding that we will fully fund it at the state level,” said Goodman.

But Marquez doesn’t buy it, “I’d like to ask the Governor where exactly he’s going to receive that funding.”

While Goodman did not detail where state funds would come from, she maintains legislators in Austin will make sure women across Texas are cared for, “It will really be a change invisible to the women who were using it.”

Goodman said the HHSC is just complying with state law,”The state law is very clear that we need to exclude abortion. We don’t get to select which state laws we comply with.”

According to Marquez, the new state law contradicts federal law.

“It was an impulsive decision made by people who are advocating on the other end that’s been taken care of at the national level,” said Marquez. “For example, Roe vs. Wade.”

The WHP memo states that Texas is forfeiting $9 of federal funding for every $1 spent by the state on WHP.