PPFA Patient: Women’s Health Care Hangs in the Balance

by Jennifer Porter Gore, Word In Black

As Congress considers the president’s budget bill, millions fear life without access to health care.

Six years ago, Kas Howar of Dayton, Ohio, was broke, homeless and newly pregnant. Unsure where to turn, Howar took a chance on a nonprofit organization that promised free, no-judgment medical help and resources for unplanned pregnancies. 

But the care Howar received from the crisis pregnancy center — many of which are clinics that mimic women’s health centers, but are run by anti-abortion groups — was not helpful. The facility was cold and dim, the prenatal care centered on a pro-life message and Howar, who is Black and nonbinary, felt manipulated.

“[The staff] made me feel very guilty for any questions that I had concerning abortion,” says Howar, who uses they/them pronouns and had already decided to give birth. “I was told to ‘stay strong’ in my pregnancy. And I didn’t feel respected. I felt guilt-tripped.” 

The experience Howar had at Planned Parenthood for America, however, was exactly what they needed: prenatal care, information about anti-poverty resources and support as a nonbinary person. Now, Howar wants to make sure others have the same options. 

They are speaking out about the Draconian funding cuts Planned Parenthood will face if President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” becomes law. 

Along with the millions of low-income Americans who will lose healthcare, the bill cuts off the Medicaid reimbursements paid to PPFA for reproductive health services, like breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings.  If the cuts go through, experts say, it could deprive low-income people like Howar of the care they depend on. 

“As marginalized people, as poor Black people, we often get told how lucky we are to just survive,” Howar says. “I am so grateful to have made it through with the assistance of Medicaid and Planned Parenthood, and that’s why I’m so desperate to fight for them now.” Howar is now part of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio.

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