1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Texas must refrain from undermining crucial healthcare services that benefit all Texans. The state's relentless campaign to defund Planned Parenthood puts essential women's healthcare and STI testing and prevention at grave risk. Planned Parenthood clinics provide vital services like contraception, cancer screenings, and HIV prevention to underserved communities across Texas, filling gaps left by funding cuts and closures of public health facilities. Depriving vulnerable Texans of this care will only exacerbate alarming trends like rising maternal mortality, teen pregnancy, and STI rates. Rather than scoring political points, the state should prioritize expanding access to the comprehensive reproductive healthcare Planned Parenthood provides, especially given Texas' high uninsured rate and lack of progress on improving outcomes. Driving Planned Parenthood out through punitive lawsuits serves only to punish Texans in need. The organization has followed proper procedures, and this meritless case demanding $1.8 billion is an unconscionable attempt to bankrupt providers acting legally and ethically. Texas should halt this attack and work to strengthen, not sabotage, the healthcare safety net for its citizens.