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Dear Texan,

Sometimes it's hard to realize how decisions made at the Texas state capitol affect our daily lives and the healthcare and social services we are able to access. One thing we all should remember is that

Texas lawmakers hold the key to women's health services in our communities -
and we have to tell them what we need!

Here are some things you should know about women's health in Texas:

  • Texas has the nation's highest rate of women aged 15-44 with no health insurance1
  • Texas has a lower rate of women who have access to prenatal care or family planning than almost every other state in the nation.2
  • African-American and Latina women have the highest death rates from cervical cancer (mortality is even higher for Latina women along the Texas-Mexico border)3
  • Half of all Texas women giving birth rely on Medicaid to cover their child's birth4
  • Texas is one of the ten states with the highest percentage of women over 40 who have not gotten a mammogram in the past three years;5
  • Texas has the nation's highest rate of teenage births and repeat teenage births6
We cannot let these numbers define women's health any more! In just a few months, we have the opportunity to address women's reproductive health needs in Texas during the 2009 legislative session - where lawmakers hold the key to women's reproductive health services.
 
In preparation, we are asking women across Texas to share what they and their families need with us so we can share these stories with Texas legislators. Given the real needs of Texas women and families, we hope our legislators will start focusing on delivering these commonsense, common-ground services to the sisters, mothers and daughters of Texas!

Sincerely,

The Healthy Women, Healthy Families Coalition
 

1The Status of Women in Texas, 2004: Highlights. Ed. Amy Caiazza, Dr. and April Shaw. The Status of Women in the States (2004) R297. Institute for Women's Policy Research. Nov. 2004. 26 Feb. 2008. http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/TX_R297.pdf

2Contraception Counts: Texas. Guttmacher Institute, March 2006. Accessed 21 Apr. 2008. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/state_data/states/texas.pdf Adequacy of Prenatal Care Summary (2007 Ranks). America's Health Rankings. United Health Foundation. 26 Feb. 2008 http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2007/prenatal.html#Table32

3Barriers and Facilitators of Cervical Cancer Screening Among Hispanic Women. Byrd, Chavez, Wilson. Ethnicity & Disease, Vol. 17, 2007

4Texas: Births Financed by Medicaid as a Percent of Total Births, 2002. StateHealthFacts.org. Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed 21 Apr. 2008. http://statehealthfacts.kff.org/profileind.jsp?ind=223&cat=4&rgn=45

5Mammogram Rate for Women 40+, 2006. StateHealthFacts.org. Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed 22 Apr. 2008. http://statehealthfacts.kff.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=479&cat=10

6Teen births, by Age Group. KIDS COUNT Data Center. Annie E. Casey Foundation. Accessed 21 Apr. 2008. http://www.kidscount.org/datacenter/profile.jsp Jayson, Sharon. Repeat teen births highest in Texas at 24%. USA Today 24 Oct. 2007. Accessed 21 Apr. 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-10-24-repeat-teen-births_N.htm

Healthy Women Healthy Families Coalition • PO Box 684602 • Austin, TX 78768 • (512) 462-1661
www.HealthyWomenHealthyFamilies.org