As the wave of “de-fund Planned Parenthood” bills cross the country and slowly go into effect, it becomes increasingly clear that although the provider organization was allegedly the target, the whole effort was never really only about them.  Instead, it’s about ending access to family planning services all together.

In Texas, they are having quite the success of it, too.

Via The Texas Observer:

In the year since deep cuts to family planning funding took effect, the impact has become apparent. An Observer review of state records has found that 146 clinics have lost state funds, clumped mainly in the Panhandle, Central Texas and on the border with Mexico. More than 60 of those clinics have closed their doors forever. The number of organizations that help poor women plan pregnancy has shrunk by almost half. As in San Saba, low-income women in many areas of Texas now face a long drive, or worse, lack of access to birth control and health screenings.

…

In fact, of the more than 60 clinics that have closed across Texas, only 12 were run by Planned Parenthood. Dozens of other clinics unconnected to Planned Parenthood nonetheless lost state funds and have closed, leaving low-income women in wide swaths of the state without access to contraception.

This isn’t about fungible money or conscience or any of the other excuses politicians were providing. This is about shutting off family planning services for low income and uninsured patients. 

Period.