AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Texas Health and Human Services commissioner says his agency can meet the demand of providing family planning services to poor women without Planned Parenthood clinics.
On Jan. 1 the state cut off funding to Planned Parenthood clinics that were providing check-ups and birth control to 48,000 women a year. Republican leaders cut off all funding to groups that support abortion rights.
The federal government cut off funding to the state, saying it was illegal to deny a woman the right to choose her doctor.
Commissioner Kyle Janek said Monday that women who went to Planned Parenthood should have no problem finding a new doctor.
Critics of the policy have contended a doctor shortage would make it difficult for poor women to find treatment from non-Planned Parenthood facilities.
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