Ruling about basic rights

With the April 30 article “Federal judge stops Texas law on women’s health,” one is forced to inquire which issue is more important: federalism or basic human rights (access to health care). With U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s decision to label Texas’ exclusion of Planned Parenthood in their Women’s Health Program unconstitutional, he took an important step in asserting the importance of the humanity’s access to basic rights.

What Texas’ Republicans fail to recognize with exclusivity in their allocation of funds is the essential health care services that Planned Parenthood provides aside from abortion. Planned Parenthood’s services that involve women’s health include breast cancer screenings, pelvic exams, Pap tests, HPV tests, and many more. Therefore, what the Texas Republicans are choosing to do with their funds is deny women access to important health care services while simultaneously furthering their political and religious agendas.

In a country that continually fails to provide its citizens with adequate health care, it is important for state and federal officials to uphold citizens’ access to health care services. Although some may consider Yeakel’s ruling a breach of federalism, we should recognize that Yeakel’s intention was not to belittle the Texas government but to simply uphold basic human rights.

Emily Ditzler

Bellingham, Wash.