AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A powerful Republican lawmaker is demanding that Texas health officials explain why two state employees co-authored a study suggesting that cuts to Planned Parenthood are curbing access to women’s health services.
State Sen. Jane Nelson sent a letter to Texas Health Commissioner Chris Traylor. Her request is the latest fallout from a New England Journal of Medicine study that has angered Republicans, who say the findings are flawed and biased.
The study found that fewer Texas women obtained long-acting birth control after GOP lawmakers booted Planned Parenthood from a state women’s health program in 2013.
Two researchers with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission were among the study’s five co-authors.
Traylor hasn’t said whether he will punish his employees. But his spokesman says they agree with Nelson’s concerns.
