Tag: PLanned Parenthood

Us & Them: Post-Roe Mountain State

The landscape of abortion law is changing. On this episode of Us & Them, we consider what will happen in West Virginia in a post-Roe world?

There’s a lot of energy and movement on abortion policy and law this fall. Some states have defined their position with five states offering ballot measures to protect or further restrict access to abortion.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, plenty of people feel like one side has won and the other has lost. But how is this power shift playing out for people on the front line of the issue? How are individuals and groups facing what comes next in this post-Roe world?

In this episode of Us & Them, two West Virginia women, an abortion rights advocate and an abortion rights opponent, outline their perspectives on where we are in this moment and what’s ahead.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the Greater Kanawha Valley Fund, the CRC Foundation and the Daywood Foundation.

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Emily Womeldorff, Advocacy Campaigns Director for Planned Parenthood Vote South Atlantic, speaking at the “Bans Off Our Bodies Rally” in front the Monongalia County Courthouse in October 2021.
Wanda Franz, President of West Virginians for Life

Planned Parenthood Plans Bar Crawls in W.Va. to Raise Awareness

A regional chapter of Planned Parenthood is hosting a pair of bar crawls in West Virginia to spread the word about upcoming changes to the organization.

On Monday, national Planned Parenthood leaders announced they were stepping away from Title X funds they’ve been receiving from the federal government for roughly 50 years. The decision came after the Trump administration made some changes to Title X rules that would’ve prohibited Planned Parenthood from referring patients to abortion clinics. 

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which covers West Virginia, plans to host events in Morgantown and Shepherdstown to talk about how people can support the organization, now that it no longer will be receiving Title X funding. According to a news release from the group on Tuesday, Planned Parenthood has served around 40 percent of all Title X patients, nationally.

The Morgantown bar crawl is Friday, August 23, at 7 p.m. The Shepherdstown bar crawl will be next Saturday night on August 31st, starting at 7 p.m.

West Virginia’s one Planned Parenthood clinic is in Vienna, Wood County. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports it serves about a thousand patients a year, most of whom typically benefit from Title X funding. The Vienna clinic doesn’t provide abortions.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Title X funds cover 40 percent of all Planned Parenthood Patients. The reverse is actually true — Planned Parenthood has covered 40 percent of Title X patients. 

How Does Women's Health Fare Under Trumpcare?

The House Republican health care proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act could have a profound impact on women’s health care coverage.

The ACA reformed several insurance provisions that affect women, including requiring coverage of no-cost birth control, not allowing insurance companies to charge women more than men and expanding coverage of pre-pregnancy care. Changes to these provisions would impact all women, but especially low-income women.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, one in three low-income women receives birth control from family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood while three quarters of higher-income women receive birth control from a doctor’s office.

President Trump has proposed major cuts to federal funding that support family planning clinics – a move that could disproportionately affect low-income women’s access to family planning services. Anti-abortion advocates have long supported defunding Planned Parenthood due to its role as an abortion provider. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he supports redirecting women’s health resources from Planned Parenthood to federally qualified health centers, which, he said, will allow women to get the services they need without the controversy.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Manchin Says He'll Vote to End Planned Parenthood Aid

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will back a Republican bill cutting off federal aid for Planned Parenthood.

Manchin is a moderate and his decision Monday was not a complete surprise. Even so, Republicans were still expected to lose a Senate vote later Monday to halt federal assistance to the group.

Republicans introduced their bill after an anti-abortion group began releasing secretly recorded videos showing Planned Parenthood officials describing how they provide tissue from some aborted fetuses to researchers. The bill says it would transfer Planned Parenthood’s aid to other women’s health care providers.

Manchin said in a statement that until questions about Planned Parenthood are answered, the organization should not receive taxpayer funds.

Planned Parenthood provides contraception, sexual disease treatment, abortion and other services across the country.

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