Federal cutbacks could impact Torrington’s Planned Parenthood

TORRINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment Friday, Feb. 18, to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood, eliminating $330 million in annual Title X funding that helps fund the organization’s preventative health services.Susan Yolen, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said in an interview last week that the potential federal cutbacks would make accessing services difficult for lower income residents.“If this amendment was passed in Congress, we would not be able to accept people who have Medicaid insurance,” Yolen said. “We also may not be able to accept patients on a sliding fee scale.”Funding for Planned Parenthood has been on the chopping block in Washington since Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives in the last election. But any finalized budget reductions would have to overcome significant hurdles in the Senate, where Democrats have control and at least two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine, have expressed support for Planned Parenthood.Critics of Planned Parenthood have pointed to videos made by the anti-abortion group Live Action, purportedly showing Planned Parenthood representatives offering services to clients disguised as pimps and underage prostitutes. Like similar videos made by partisan activist James O’Keefe, the clips have been criticized as misleading and out of context. There are 18 Planned Parenthood health clinics in the state, including a clinic located in Torrington on 249 Winsted Road. Yolen said that the Torrington office of Planned Parenthood, which was not a subject of any of the videos, served more than 2,300 patients in 2010, with about 3,700 patient visits. According to plannedparenthood.org, the organization provides health services including birth control, HIV testing, pregnancy testing, family planning and medical services for both men and women.While many of the Planned Parenthood clinics across the country provide abortion services, the use of federal funds for abortions is illegal under the Hyde Amendment, which was passed by the House of Representatives in 1976.Yolen said 32 percent of patients who use the Torrington office use Medicaid for their health services and that 80 percent of the patients have incomes lower than 150 percent of the federal poverty level.“In general, the health needs of the working poor in Torrington, and in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut, are underserved,” Yolen said. “Hopefully more people will be covered down the road with health-care reform.”As for the future of the Torrington clinic itself, Yolen said that despite any federal funding cutbacks, the clinic will not close.“The definitive answer is that it will certainly not close,” she said. “We will do what we can to maintain as many services as possible. I want to make it clear that the cuts have not occurred yet. We are eager to see how the votes on the Senate side turn out.”