Columbia — The South Carolina House of Representatives have introduced another bill that would essentially ban Medicaid patients from receiving any kind of health care.
The bill is known as H. 4491, and it defunds the only health care provider in the state that accepts Medicaid patients, Planned Parenthood. If H. 4491 is passed into law, there will be absolutely no alternatives for Medicaid patients in South Carolina for health care.
Vicki Ringer, the director of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic South Carolina, writes:
Attention : major announcement for tomorrow morning March 7 th :
Friends, the House Judiciary Subcommittee is holding a hearing tomorrow morning at 9 am in Room 516 of the Blatt Building on the State House grounds (it’s between the Gressette Building and Pendleton Street). The bill is H. 4491 which prevents patients on Medicaid from coming to abortion clinics for pap smears, breast exams, birth control, STD testing and treatment, cancer screenings and other health care. This is the “defund Planned Parenthood” bill.
It has absolutely no impact on the number of abortions performed because state and federal law already prohibit funding for abortion. And though the bill says it affects abortion clinics, Planned Parenthood is the only one affected because we’re the only one which accepts Medicaid.
We really need people who will testify so we can fill the agenda and perhaps slow down a vote or prevent a vote tomorrow.
You don’t need any facts or statistics. Just talk about how politicians are interfering with women’s health care choices, taking away women’s option to go to an already trusted health care provider, making it more difficult for low income women to seek care, hurting women over and over again. It’s getting really tiring having to constantly defend our basic rights to care. Legislators have decided that they haven’t punished us enough this year.
Please come tomorrow and show your support AGAIN for our reproductive rights in SC.
Please forward this to all your networks and contacts. Share on social media. Post on Facebook. Let’s fill the room again!
Thank you so much!
Vicki
With the state being much worse off now than it was in 1986, waging a War on South Carolina Women is what this crooked conservative state does best.
November 6, where are you?
h/t Elaine Cooper