I get e-mail from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and all too often it leaves me shaking my head in disgust.
This one came today. I suppose one needs to understand that the e-mail is intended to mislead the recipients about what Gov. Abbott is doing.
In the War on Cancer, Abbott has sided with cancer. As Attorney General in the later stages of the wilting administration of the beleaguered Rick Perry, Abbott refused to investigate a Texas Constitutionally-established, billion-dollar fund to support cancer research whose administration then-Gov. Perry had turned over to old political friends.
Abbott should have recused himself from any investigation by his office, because under the laws setting up the research fund, he was on the board. Any investigation would need to answer the question about what Abbott had done to be sure the funds were spent as the law intended.
Conflicts of interest don’t bother Greg Abbott, though, so long as the conflicts work in favor of his friends, and political donors.
Fortunately for Texas, there is another, separate office to investigate public wrongdoing in state agencies, the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s office. That office indicted one of the cancer agency’s officials (he was convicted of misappropriating $11 million in public funds), and promised to indict more.
This so angered Perry he stepped all over the Texas Constitution to bring down the Travis County DA — and that earned Perry his own indictment after an investigation by a GOP-led task force. Oh, yeah, there were other shenanigans by Perry that he might have wanted to cover up; but the cancer research abuse already sent one Perry buddy to jail.
You get the idea. Cancer research is political in Texas, and probably not all that serious a concern to GOP elected officials. Cancer is something poor people get. Republicans have health insurance.
For years, Planned Parenthood clinics in Texas and the rest of the nation offered free cancer screenings and checkups to women who otherwise could not get them for lack of money. These services have nothing to do with abortion, but a lot to do with obstetrical and gynecological care poor women cannot get otherwise.
Well, now Greg Abbott has ordered funding for those health care services to stop.
Read Abbott’s fund-raising letter — yes, he wants me (and you) to donate to his unholy campaign against women’s health care — and pay particular attention to how he avoids any mention of what kinds of services this funding cut-off will kill. He wants you to think he’s fighting abortion.
Which might be oddly and rarely true, if his denial of cancer screenings enables cancer to kill a woman who might have later gotten an abortion, or destroy her ability to conceive at all.
See the letter, sent with the subject, “Another win against Planned Parenthood”:
___________________________________
Friend,
_______________________________________
So there you have it. Greg Abbott wants you to send him money, because he’s stopped poor women in Texas from getting cancer screenings.
Because, abortion, liberty, guns, and probably, illegal immigrants.
And, because he can get away with it.
How stupid must a Texas politician be to think promoting cancer will help any of those problems? How conniving must one be to try to hoodwink Texans into sending him money, neglecting to mention it’s money to support cutting medical care to women who need it?
How stupid must Texas voters be, if they don’t see through this corrupt ruse?
More:
- Gossip over at Juanita Jean’s beauty parlor gives a perspective on this entire fight that you should have (yes, I said “gossip,” though you and I know that Pulitzer-worthy reporting is what it really is)
- Norwegians aren’t fooled, Juanita Jean says
- Timeline of the Perry/Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and veto stuff that got him indicted, from KUT-FM at the University of Texas
- Houston Chronicle editorial says it’s all politics, doesn’t help any women, nor babies
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
To quote: Meanwhile, while women of moderate to upper-income have no problem in paying for these services–and even have abortions, which are legal. No government funding goes to funding abortions.
And lets not forget all those fertility clinics the GOP has no problem with despite the fact that they destroy hundreds of thousands of embryos a year.
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Besides Texas, many other GOP-controlled statehouses have also been been touting the de-funding of PPF as an important cause, in order to kiss-up to their conservative base. One again, it doesn’t matter that PPF uses 97% of its resources to fund (mostly) women’s vital health needs, many of which among poor and rural–read Medicaid or uninsured–in their states.
Meanwhile, while women of moderate to upper-income have no problem in paying for these services–and even have abortions, which are legal. No government funding goes to funding abortions.
Would there be the same hew and cry if PPF addressed the needs of urban higher-income white women? I doubt it!
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Typically a woman must pay for the examination that results in a referral to a mammogram agency; Planned Parenthood specializes in finding mammography groups that do not charge poor patients, nor do they bill the patient for the referral. Sometimes the women treated are eligible for Medicaid, and Planned Parenthood can get reimbursement for providing those services.
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From Planned Parenthood:
How can I take control of my breast health?
Breast cancer screenings help detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage. More than nine out of 10 women who detect breast cancer early live at least five years — and many live much longer. These breast cancer detection tools can save lives:
Regular clinical breast exams can detect breast cancer early. Wo men in their 20s and 30s should get clinical breast exams every one to three years, and women older than 40 should get yearly exams.
Yearly mammograms after age 40 are also an important tool in early detection. >>>Mammograms help find growths that are too small to be felt during a breast exam.
However, Planned Parenthood does NOT do mammograms. They say they can refer you to someone. Any medical establishment can do that can’t it? I was shocked to hear this.
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Texas politicians get worse and worse! I missed this one – perhaps I should sign up for his e-mails! Planned Parenthood is important for so many women!
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CPRIT: Strong enough for a man, made for a Texas governor.
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But Abbott’s not been indicted yet, unlike our current Texas Attorney General . . .
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I think it’s official. You have the worst Governor in the country and he faces some stiff competition.
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