Many women in the state of Texas rely on clinics such as Planned Parenthood for their basic healthcare needs. They cannot afford to see a regular doctor or have health insurance that can help cover the medical costs. Clinics provide adequate health care to these women of lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

However, a recent Texas law requires that all abortion clinics meet the same safety standards as ambulatory surgical centers, and for the patients to have admitting privileges from a hospital. Although the Supreme Court ordered Texas to stop enforcing the law until a lawsuit regarding it can be decided upon, the law and budget cuts shut down a lot of Planned Parenthood facilities across the state.

Now you would think that despite budget cuts, healthcare would be safe, right? Or at least the budget cuts to healthcare would be a smaller amount than, say, education or border control. But due to the budget cuts, Planned Parenthood has had to close their Bryan, Lufkin and Huntsville locations among many more.

According to lifesitenews.com, as many as 37 abortion clinics would have to close their doors due to these new requirements. They also mentioned that only five facilities throughout the entire state of Texas meets the new requirements in this new law.

According to the same website, the Planned Parenthood in Bryan would have met the new standards set in place by the state. However, due to budget cuts the location had to close its doors for good.

For those of you who do not know, Planned Parenthood is not just an abortion clinic. Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that offers healthcare, sex education and information to millions of men, women, and young people across the world. Their services include providing birth control to those who choose to take it, mammograms, HPV vaccine and numerous other health care services.

Some of their services are not free, but they are much more affordable than going to a regular doctor. According to their website, women in Texas between the ages of 21 and 64 with an income at or below twice the federal poverty level qualify for funding. I think it is safe to say that their main demographic is low socioeconomic women.

But like I said before, Planned Parenthood is not just an abortion clinic. The fact that three of the clinics in Texas alone had to close their doors is quite disappointing. These days, people are suffering from more and more health issues. I cannot stress the importance of women receiving a mammogram between the ages of 40 and 50, at the very least once.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month also reminds us of the lack of adequate healthcare available in this country. Planned Parent provided these services to help screen women and prevent this terrible disease.

What are the people in areas without these facilities going to do when they need some sort of healthcare? Not everyone is fortunate enough to own a car, know someone who has a car or make enough money to take the bus to another city where a Planned Parenthood is located.

Law makers sit back in their luxurious offices and make life changing decisions that affect millions of people, but maybe they should think before they enforce their narrow and one-sided views on the rest of us.