The Huffington Post released an article on Thursday, Aug. 18, about the doubling of deaths related to pregnancy in the state of Texas. Apparently, since 2010 Texas has been making a “modest increase in maternal mortality.” Since then, consequently, the rate of pregnancy-related deaths doubled between 2011 and 2012. In 2010, 72 women died from complications with pregnancy. In 2012, that number spikes up to 148.
Is it only a coincidence that these death rates are rising when Texas has been making state cuts to their Planned Parenthoods. Due to the cuts that occurred in 2011, there have been 82 Planned Parenthoods that have been forced to close, one-third of these Planned Parenthoods we the clinics. Having these clinics abandoned resorted in Texas’s health program unable to serve half as many women, this also concludes in unobtainable access to birth control, medications, and overall health treatment(s) for low-income women. Texas’ Department of Health said a task force is “looking into the issue.”
Planned Parenthood is well used for supplying women with birth control products and options. And although I do not agree with this, many collegiate women use planned parenthood as a trusted resource and health care provider(s). Planned Parenthood is also a way of being aware and tested for sexually transmitted diseases, and this is an imperative accessibility in the college realm.
I have witnessed how Planned Parenthood positively affects and contributes to the health of women, especially among young women in a college environment. Being in a college town, there are plenty of young women who need access to some type of physician. Fortunately, in California, Planned Parenthood has a larger budget and financial support from the state. In Texas, however, women who depend on a well-trusted, funded health care, are losing their source of care.
So, what I am challenging is that these deaths were more correlated with the cuts of Planned Parenthood than given credit for. I do trust the state leaders in Texas thought well and hard over these hard topics before cutting budgets, but I cannot help but wonder how they feel now. Maybe, because of some of the things options (birth control, and the day after pills) provide for women are not as conservative as the state leans towards, they feel the need to cut the budget. However, when people are literally dying from being malnourished and not having the right amount of care, there is a surfacing problem.
All too often we focus on how bad things are in other countries; wars, deaths, etc. But, how often do we focus on the true issues within our nation? Hopefully one day, regardless of what political stance you have, we will have a health care system that truly provides for women's' basic needs. We should pay attention to these things! We should try to help fix the issues that are occurring in our backyard, help those women, help their families, in order to help our country. The Huffington Post article should trouble us because we need to realize that as taxpayers, and voters, we are watching people die because of our representatives.
