The State of Texas just stripped Planned Parenthood of $600,000 in federal funds used to prevent and test for HIV, reports Houston Press.
 
A letter from the Texas Department of State Health Services simply stated that the funds would not be renewed when the contract expires December 31; it did not explain why the funding ended after three decades or whether the federal money will be distributed to other providers of HIV care.
 
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast used the annual funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to do testing and counseling for HIV, distribute condoms and connect people who test HIV positive to care. This work was done in Houston, the state’s largest city.
 
In October, the state said it would strip Planned Parenthood of Medicaid funding, but the federal government claims doing so is illegal (Planned Parenthood has filed a lawsuit to retain its Medicaid funds).
 
The newspaper reports that the funding cuts appear to be part of a broader attack against Planned Parenthood and abortion, spurred by a series of anti-abortion videos.