For less than the price of ½ a latte, we can retard politicostal hate in the Lone Star state.
As has been reported in CNN and a myriad of other outlets including The Huffington Post, a federal appeals court has upheld the Texas law that bans its state's funding of Planned Parenthood. Cloaking themselves within the holier than thou guise of an anti-abortion crusade (Texas Planned Parenthood does not perform abortions), the politicostals (definition: unsavory persons in positions of leadership who manipulate religion to further political agendas) of the Texas state legislature have misrepresented the function and mission of Planned Parenthood in Texas. True civil service seems to have been replaced with legislation designed to solidify the base and rally the religious right for political gain. The result is not a better, more Christian Texas; far from it. Instead, thousands of poor women, men and their families who rely on Planned Parenthood for everything from basic medical testing to cancer screenings will be placed in physical harm's way. (Having never met Jesus, I can't say for certain what he might think about this. My guess is he wouldn't find it very Christian. But I digress)
Alas, no one among us (including compassionate Texans who are as outraged as the rest of us) can change the politics or the politicians in Texas in time to avert this politically motivated, disastrous misjudgment. However, we can change the tide. We can easily help those who have been unfairly been hurt by Texas' stance on Planned Parenthood funding. Individually, we need to take a very small action together. Five minutes of your day and a dollar from your pocket has the power to change thousands of lives for the better.
McDonald's founder Ray Kroc said, "None of us is as good as all of us." Unless we band together, change simply can't happen. Today, for the price of half of a latte, you can change the destiny of thousands of underserved women, men and their families in Texas.
According to Gallup research, at 27.6 percent, Texas has the highest percentage of residents without health insurance of any state in our Union. If each one of us from across the nation and around the world went to one of the links I've listed below and donated a dollar on-line or sent one or two in the mail, Texas Planned Parenthood will become an undeniable healthcare force for the needy. Not only will it help those that the state lawmakers have shunned, but it could expand its reach to help thousands more in Texas who are in desperate need of its services.
Like many reading this today, I am not nor have I ever been poor. I've never had to rely on Planned Parenthood for my birth control, diabetes or breast cancer screening. I've always had health insurance, and I've been fortunate to have enough money in the bank to take care of health issues when they arose.
When I was in college, a private university filled with a host of wealthy families' children, some joked that the local Planned Parenthood was used by so many co-eds it could have hosted sorority chapter meetings inside it. Planned Parenthood kept birth control, STD testing and other "unsavory" things hidden from their parents. If everyone who ever put on a condom or took the pill or had a mammogram or got a prenatal check-up sent in a dollar to a Texas (or any other state's) Planned Parenthood, it wouldn't matter one Christian damn what state governments did with their supreme political religiousity.
The politicostals in Texas need new enemies. The underserved people of Texas who rely on Planned Parenthood need a nation of citizens willing to take one simple action on their behalf. The name "Texas" is derived from the Caddoan word "Tejas," which means friends or allies. We need to be the allies of its people.
I urge you to skip your latte today. Raise an empty glass and give your dollar to Planned Parenthood in Texas. No one should play God with another human being's health and welfare. Instead, we should be of service as Christ himself was during his 30-plus years on Earth.
To learn more about Planned Parenthood in Texas, visit one of these or other official Planned Parenthood sites: Texas Capitol Region, North Texas and South Texas.
To learn more about Planned Parenthood nationally, visit their website.
Thank you in advance for taking five minutes out of your day to save thousands of lives.
None of us is as good as all of us.
Sarah O'Leary is an author, public speaker, licensed minister and entrepreneur. She can be reached by email: sarahathuffpo@gmail.com