Providing Title X Family Planning Services in West Texas in the Aftermath of SB8 - Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas (PPGT) is requesting $785,256 from the US Office of Population Affairs over 15 months to deliver high-quality family planning services in West Texas. PPGT will not engage subrecipients for any aspect of the project. The two service areas include El Paso (El Paso and Hudspeth Counties) and Lubbock (Lubbock, Hale, Floyd, Crosby, Garza, Lynn, Terry, Hockley, and Lamb Counties). PPGT will provide a total of 6,500 clinic visits to 5,600 unduplicated clients. The El Paso clinic will provide family planning services to 3,200 people, and the Lubbock clinic will serve 2,400 clients. About 60% of clients will be at or below 100% FPIL, with 25% between 101% and 250%
Both clinics locations are currently in operation and offer the full range of Title X services, including physical examinations, pregnancy and STI testing and education, and contraception including medical devices such as implants and IUDs. Patients seeking to achieve pregnancy can access basic infertility and preconception health services to help parents optimize their health in preparation for parenthood. The average cost per client is $140.22 per client with OPA funds—reasonable considering the wide array of services at each encounter, which can include an exam, pregnancy test and birth control method of choice, STI testing and treatment, and more.
The urgency for family planning services has increased since the passage of Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8), which effectively bans abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, fetal viability, or the health or life of the pregnant person past about six weeks—before most pregnancies are discovered. Almost 110,000 women ages 13 to 44 in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties have a need for of family planning services, with over 23,000 being uninsured, at or below 250% of FPIL, and in need of publicly funded contraceptive services. About 49,000 women ages 13 to 44 in the nine-county service area have a need for family planning services, with over 9,000 being uninsured, at or below 250% of FPIL, and in need of publicly funded contraceptive services.
