Monday, October 15, 2012

Visited Planned Parenthood

As many of you know, many Planned Parenthood clinics have been forced to shut their doors or reduce hours here in Texas. So getting an appointment is difficult. If the ruling stands, it is my understanding that as of November first WHP patients will need to find another clinic to go to. That includes me.

The problem is, there aren't enough providers. My own hometown will suffer, "Lubbock County providers would need to expand by 250% if the Planned Parenthood affiliate was excluded." -GWU study, original story published at reality check. http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/10/11/tk-gwu-study-on-texas-whp

Having visited this location many times for my annual visits this location was often very busy. There are not enough providers to take in these women. This includes friends and family that I know whom has also relied on the Lubbock Planned Parenthood for services. It is a place they trust. But some people, such as Rick Perry and HHSC think that they should not be allowed to go there and that no care is better than the care Planned Parenthood provided. Will they say that? Of course not, they will sugar coat it and say that women can go to other providers. But there aren't enough. There is also no reason that demonstrates Planned Parenthood as an inept provider. However, Rick Perry seems to think that including Crisis Pregnancy Centers will help. They do not provide medical care. I will talk about this specifically shortly.

I visited a Planned Parenthood today. Like most women who go there, I am enrolled in WHP, and I go there for my annual cancer screenings because otherwise I cannot afford them. I am not lazy, or irresponsible as people might assume since I get WHP. I am a student, working hard to graduate so I can one day afford health insurance. But I will want WHP and Planned Parenthood to be there for women like me when I have health insurance.

As I drove up I saw a bill board that said "take my hand, not my life". I was thinking about how irrelevant this is to passers by. I was just there for my annual visit, hoping I don't have any abnormalities that might be indicators of something wrong, like cervical cancer.

I saw a woman praying outside the gate. I was praying that I have a healthy test and that I won't have to worry about cervical cancer at 25, like my mom had to. Was she praying for me and the other women inside? Probably. But I doubt she was praying that I'd have a healthy pap and no signs of cancer or abnormal cells.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Guest Post: Inside a Crisis Pregnancy Center

As you likely have heard, Rick Perry has stated that he would like to cover crisis pregnancy centers under the women's healthcare program. These centers provide little more than pregnancy tests to women, not cancer screenings, not contraception, no healthcare whatsoever. Many are also run by religious organizations and have no medical staff.

You can sign and share the petition at this link. Remember, if you want to help, sharing is key :)

http://www.change.org/petitions/texas-office-of-the-govenor-don-t-cover-crisis-pregnancy-centers-under-whp

An awesome member of our "like" page confirmed what crisis pregnancy centers really do as she volunteered while getting her degree. Her name is Kathy and here is her story. Thank you again Kathy for sharing what goes on inside crisis pregnancy centers.

In the Spring of 1999, I was completing my Master's degree in mental health counseling.

"As part of my internship, I began volunteering for two days a week at a Crisis Pregnancy Center in Louisiana.

I was under the direct impression that I would gain needed counseling experience, while helping women who were pregnant and in a crisis.

What was not revealed to the public, however, was that this was not a "crisis counseling agency" at all. It was managed by a local area church, and its real purpose was to divert women from having abortions, and convert them to Christianity.

But we were never to say this on the phone, to anyone who called.

Any questions over the phone about abortion or contraceptives, were to be answered with "We are not a medical facility. Would you like to make an appointment?"

Once they came in for their appointment, a volunteer would take them into a room, supposedly for "counseling."

Now, as I was training to be a mental health counselor, I was trying to do REAL crisis counseling; After all, these women were pregnant, and in a crisis.

But, management didn't like what I was doing. I was supposed to be trying to convert them to Christianity, and check off the box to indicate whether or not I had successfully led them to accept Jesus as their savior during the session.

The counselor who had "achieved" the most salvations for the month, got their name put on a plaque on the wall.

As I was not focusing on "salvations", I had not "achieved" any by the end of the month, so I was told not to volunteer there anymore.

After the "counseling" session, was the mandatory anti-abortion video, which showed a graphic depiction of an abortion being performed. I had to show them this video, whether they wanted to watch it or not.

Then after the video, I would retrieve the pregnancy test, hand it to them, and tell them to administer it and tell us the results.

Note that we could not legally be a part of the pregnancy test in any way, because we were not a licensed medical facility. There was no medical staff on the premises at any time.

At no time were we to give any information on contraceptives. We had to answer any questions with "We are not a medical facility."

I wasn't there for very long, but understandably, I didn't enjoy my time there. And I never did fit in with the other volunteers, with their plastic smiles glued to their faces at all times.

I thought that what they were doing was unethical. But unfortunately, since they were not a licensed medical facility, they were not regulated by any agency, so they could do whatever they wanted."

Monday, September 24, 2012

Welcome!

I decided to make a blog after all. This post is just a brief introduction as to what the blog will feature.

My name is Rene and I also admin the "save the Texas women's healthcare program" facebook and twitter. I am also the Texas graduate student that started two petitions. One to save the women's healthcare program and one to get the public hearing so the public would have a chance to voice their opinions about the ruling to ban planned parenthood from acting as a provider to WHP patients.

Everything posted to this blog will be by me, or I may feature guest bloggers from within the state. I am also open to having my blog posts posted on other websites, just contact me so I can give you permission and also share it with readers.

The name of this blog is from the first petition I started. I listed the creator name as Rainy Dai. I wanted to use an alias at first and remember a cool name a friend gave me at work "Rainy". I found it inspiring because of the old expression that you save the best things for a rainy day or to help you in times of trouble. We are having a few "rainy days" in Texas and its our call to step up to the plate and fight for our rights as women, as citizens, as humans. "Rainy Dai" is also a character I am using in my fictional writing. This blog will be dedicated to women's healthcare issues in Texas, however it will also feature national women's healthcare news that affects us all, and other women's related legislation like fair pay and violence against women issues.

Thank you for reading. I also want to take a moment to thank everyone that's been fighting alongside me, be it that you share a petition, shared a news story, or even told a friend about what's happening here in Texas. We are in this together.

Please save this page or subscribe :)

"There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it." -Alice Paul, women's suffragist.

facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the-Texas-Womens-Health-Program/316254581755345

twitter
https://twitter.com/SaveTxWHP