MADISON, Wis. (AP) _ Democratic legislators say House Speaker Paul Ryan's plans to cut off Planned Parenthood's funding will leave 50,000 Wisconsinites without easy access to reproductive health care.
Ryan plans to eliminate Planned Parenthood from Medicaid. Sen. Janis Ringhand said at a Thursday news conference that 6,000 people in Ryan's own district enrolled in Medicaid rely on Planned Parenthood for services including exams and cancer screening.
Ryan has said other providers will step in to serve former patients of closed clinics. Ringhand says that hasn't happened in Shawano, Johnson Creek, Chippewa Falls, Fond du Lac or Beaver Dam since Gov. Scott Walker cut off funding to Planned Parenthood's rural health centers there and women will have to travel further for care.
The Democrats wrote to Walker and Ryan urging them to reconsider.