The state legislator who has been at the forefront of the fight against LGBT and women’s rights this week introduced a measure designed to defund Planned Parenthood, which could have implications for the agency’s HIV work.
Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-12th Dist.) on Wednesday submitted legislation titled the “Whole Woman’s Health Funding Priority Act,” which would mandate that health facilities that provide abortion services, largely thought to be targeted at Planned Parenthood, be placed at the bottom of the state’s health-funding priorities.
Planned Parenthood’s abortion services account for just 3 percent of its programming, but Metcalfe’s bill could prevent funding for other agency services, such as HIV and STD testing and counseling, cancer-prevention services and affordable birth control for low-income families.
Last year, the agency provided more than 200,000 STD tests and 40,000 cervical-cancer screenings in Pennsylvania.
More than 120,000 individuals seek services from the Commonwealth’s 42 Planned Parenthood agencies annually.
Metcalfe’s measure, which has 34 cosponsors, was authored by Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion agency that also crafted similar legislation that passed in Arizona earlier this year.
A number of other states are also currently considering measures to defund Planned Parenthood.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].