Congress Is Holding A Hearing On Planned Parenthood—Here’s What’s At Stake

Meet women traveling hundreds of miles for an abortion.

Donna Ferrato

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Wednesday morning, the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee is holding what committee the committee’s ranking member John Conyers (D-Mich.) calls a “one-sided” hearing on the heavily edited sting videos that accuse Planned Parenthood of selling fetal parts for profit. Since these videos have been released, Republican lawmakers and 2016 hopefuls have used them as ammunition in their ongoing crusade against Planned Parenthood.  The title of the hearing, Planned Parenthood Exposed: Examining the Horrific Abortion Practices at the Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider, leaves little doubt that the ultimate goal of this hearing is to further the GOP’s effort to strip Planned Parenthood of federal funding.

This hearing is only the most recent installment in a long battle that conservatives have waged to decimate abortion rights. Just how successful they have been and what is at stake in the future, is described in stark detail in our investigation into how the “War on Women” was lost. As you can see below, abortion opponents have pushed abortion rights almost back to the pre-Roe v. Wade era. New, unnecessary laws frequently prevent women who want an abortion from getting one. Out of desperation some women are attempting their own abortions, as in the pre-Roe days when countless women died or were injured.

And for those women who do manage to have the procedure, it usually involves some combination of an endless wait, interminable journey, complicated logistics, and lots of money. Here’s a look at some of the journeys women in Texas have made in the past few years to get an abortion:

Here’s a look at how abortion foes have decimated access in the state of Texas:

Finally, here’s a look the explosion of abortion restrictions over the last five years:

Read the full story here.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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