“We have a message for politicians in Florida, and across the country," says Planned Parenthood. "You cannot strip health care from thousands of people and expect to get away with it.”
Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading and probably most controversial "provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people," filed its 16th lawsuit since July to protect or expand access to care at its health centers.
In the suit filed Thursday in Florida, Planned Parenthood asked a federal district court to protect patient privacy and access to both health care and education for thousands of Floridians by blocking restrictions signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott in March.
If the restrictions go into full effect as scheduled on July 1, the law would bar access to birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings, and other care for more than 6,600 Title X patients and more than 20,000 STI tests through the CDC STI Prevention Program. In an unprecedented invasion of patient privacy, the law also mandates that state officials review the health records of at least half of all women who have an abortion. For a copy of the filed complaint seeking relief, click here.
Since July, politicians in at least 24 states have taken action to “defund” Planned Parenthood and block access to care at its health centers. Planned Parenthood believes "this unprecedented wave of attacks could have devastating consequences for women, men and young people across the country," the organization wrote in a news statement. According to the Congressional Budget Office, if patients who rely on public health programs are blocked from coming to Planned Parenthood, up to 650,000 people would face decreased access to health care in a one-year period.
Cecile Richards, president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said this: "We have a message for politicians in Florida, and across the country: You cannot strip health care from thousands of people and expect to get away with it. Although litigation alone will not stop the unprecedented surge of attacks on reproductive health care, we will do whatever it takes to protect the health and safety of our patients.”
Lillian Tamayo, CEO, Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida, issued this statement: “For our patients, it’s not about politics, it’s about their health and their lives. If you need a cervical cancer screening, lawmakers should be making it easier, not harder, to get the care you need. Florida politicians will stop at nothing to ban abortion, and they’re willing to decimate access to preventive care in the process. Rest assured, we will leave no stone unturned to protect access to care for the Floridians who trust and rely on us.”
Barbara A. Zdravecky, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, said, “We are in court because everyone deserves access to quality, affordable, compassionate care no matter who you are or where you are from. Let’s call this what it is: an attack on people who already have the least access to care, all in the name of politics. Lawmakers have gone so far as to claim that women can go to dentists for health care. This goes to show why Florida politicians have no business writing laws about women’s health. We will do everything in our power to protect access to care for the Floridians who rely on us.”
According to the organization, "This law would have an outsized impact on groups who have historically faced systemic barriers in accessing quality health care, including people with low income and communities of color. Florida ranks as having the third highest Latino population in all 50 states, and more than 11,000 of our patients at Florida Planned Parenthood health centers are Latino. This law will make it even harder for them to access vital health screenings and care. Latinos are more likely to die from preventable diseases like cervical cancer -- in which screening, early detection and follow-up care makes all the difference."
Florida is already tied for last when it comes to women’s health and well-being, says Planned Parenthood, and is facing some of the highest cervical cancer rates in the nation.
Florida has the third highest number of gonorrhea infections and the highest number of annual HIV diagnoses in the nation. Planned Parenthood health centers serve an outsized role in meeting the health care needs of those who rely on federally funded health programs. More than half of Planned Parenthood's health centers across the U.S. are in rural or medically underserved areas.
The organization claims that often without Planned Parenthood, patients would have nowhere else to turn for reproductive health care in their communities. In Florida, it’s 78 percent. As of 2013, there were 1.2 million women in Florida in need of affordable birth control. In both Palm Beach County and Collier County, Planned Parenthood affiliates serve nearly half of women in need of affordable contraception at publicly funded family planning health centers.
The plaintiffs are represented by James K. Green Law as well as lawyers from PPFA.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi could not be reached at this writing.
