1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to reject efforts currently underway in Congress to “defund” Planned Parenthood. Passage of such legislation would jeopardize the health care of millions of Americans who may not have a viable alternative to the services provided by the clinics affiliated with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. This will cause widespread harm, including more unwanted pregnancies, more premature cancer deaths, and unnecessary suffering from treatable sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Planned Parenthood performs a wide variety of services in the area of sexual and reproductive health. These include, among others, STI testing and treatment, life-saving cancer screenings, birth control, and evidence-based sexual education. Millions of people rely on these services, particularly those from traditionally underserved populations such as women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and low-income Americans. In our fragmented and patchwork health care system that allows so many people to “fall through the cracks,” the loss of Planned Parenthood’s services would be catastrophic. The pain would be felt everywhere--red and blue states, urban and rural areas, and in all major regions of the country.  Abortion is often used as a pretext for attacking programs such as Planned Parenthood. But make no mistake: these attacks go far beyond the issue of abortion. Even if all abortions in America were to halt immediately and permanently tomorrow, Planned Parenthood would still be under attack. Why? Because it’s an irresistible target for those who wish to disempower women, return to the gender hierarchies of the 1950s, and push abstinence-only sex education (in spite of ample evidence that it simply does not work). Many of your constituents depend on Planned Parenthood for critical sexual and reproductive health care. Instead of attacking health care access, let’s invest in it to meet the needs of people in this country.  Thank you for your service and for taking the time to read this letter.