Planned Parenthood in Texas is relying on the kindness of strangers to survive. Rich, CONSERVATIVE strangers as it turns out.

Courtesy of The Daily Beast:

Planned Parenthood has more friends in deep-red Texas than you might think. The announcement last week that Ross Perot’s family foundation was giving $1 million to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas—one of the 10 largest gifts in the affiliate’s history—is just the latest sign that, despite the ceaseless political assault on the women’s health organization, it still has powerful support, even in one of the most conservative parts of the country. 

In fact, in June, the same Planned Parenthood affiliate—the state’s largest, serving Dallas, Austin, Waco, and the surrounding areas—received $6.5 million from a Republican family that wishes to remain anonymous. And this summer Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas inaugurated a new 15,000-square-foot facility in Ft. Worth, funded entirely by millions in private donations. It’s equipped to perform abortions even under the strict new regulations that Gov. Rick Perry recently signed into law, which means that the state will have six abortion clinics instead of five. 

“We’re very fortunate to have very prominent old Republican and Democratic families continue to support us,” says Ken Lambrecht, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas’s President and CEO. “Multiple generations of those families. That’s what’s so amazingly reassuring.” His affiliate, he says, has more Republican donors than any other in the country. 

In a way, it’s not surprising. Before the rise of the religious right, Planned Parenthood had deep support among bipartisan elites, including committed conservatives. Some were motivated by concern for the health of poor women; others by fear of overpopulation and concern about a social safety net strained by unwanted children. “It is my view that no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition,” Richard Nixon declared in a 1969 “Special Message to the Congress on Problems of Population Growth.” Barry Goldwater was an ardent Planned Parenthood supporter whose wife was a founding member of the group’s Arizona state affiliate. As a Texas congressman, George H.W. Bush was so obsessed with family planning that he was nicknamed “rubbers.” 

Some of that spirit lives on, quietly, in the state. “These truly are the Barry Goldwater Republicans who believe in lesser government, including less government intrusion in our personal lives,” says Lambrecht.

I have already reported on the fact that the Perot family was supporting Planned Parenthood, which has been aggressively vilified by the Right Wing, but finding that there are so many other like minded wealthy conservatives kind of blows my mind. 

 So my question is WHERE are these more moderate, and reasonable, voices when it comes to having an impact on policy decisions in Texas? I mean hell if they can afford to throw this kind of money at Planned Parenthood, perhaps they can also afford to finance a certain pro-choice Texas firebrand in her run for Governor.

I'm just saying.

After having their funding severely cut in Texas and being forced to close numerous clinics, Planned Parenthood receives help from a wealthy benefactor. And you will NEVER guess who it is. (No fair peeking at the picture.)

Courtesy of Salon:  

Thousands of women have lost access to vital healthcare since Texas dismantled its Medicaid-funded Women’s Health Program in 2011 because Planned Parenthood acted as a service provider under the program. As a result of these cuts, and the persistent targeting of reproductive health clinics by anti-choice lawmakers, many clinics have been forced to close in recent years, leaving Texas women without low- and no-cost options for reproductive healthcare. 

Enter: Ross Perot. 

The Perot Foundation of Dallas, which was founded by the billionaire and former presidential candidate, announced this week that it would be donating $1 million to the beleaguered women’s health provider to help serve the women of Texas. 

“For nearly 100 years Planned Parenthood has helped to educate men and women regarding family planning and general family health,” said Margot Perot in a written statement. “Our family has supported this nonprofit for many years because we are impressed with the work they do — providing birth control; scientifically based education; breast health exams; and basic, life-saving healthcare for women who cannot afford services otherwise.”

I literally thought that the next time I posted about Ross Perot would be to inform everybody of his passing. I NEVER thought that he would be one of the few reasonable people in Texas when it came to women's reproductive rights. 

I can barely think of Perot without remembering Dana Carvey's brilliant impersonation.

Good for the Perot Foundation. Hopefully there are other reasonable organizations that will help to offer cover from the GOP's war on women in Texas and other deeply red states as well.