Home > Trail Blazers Blog

Tag Archives: planned parenthood

Simmons’ widow, daughter split picks for lieutenant governor

Serena Simmons Connelly, center, is a major Democratic donor, despite being the daughter of the late GOP uber donor Harold Simmons. (2008 photo by Lara Solt/Staff photographer)

The late Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons may have been a Republican mega donor but his family is splitting its political bets this fall.

In checks written on the eve of the election, Simmons’ widow, Annette, gave Republican lieutenant governor hopeful Dan Patrick $25,000, while his daughter, Serena Simmons Connelly, gave Democrat Leticia Van de Putte $10,000. For the year, that brought Serena’s financial backing of Van de Putte to $17,500, according to Texas Ethics Commission records.

In this election cycle, Annette Simons has given Republican candidates $120,000, the commission’s records show. Half went to unsuccessful attorney general candidate Dan Branch of Dallas.

Since January 2013, Serena Connelly has given more than $358,000 to state Democratic causes, according to commission records. Of that, more than $120,000 went to gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis and the Texas Victory Committee, the Davis campaign’s joint project with voter-organizing Battleground Texas; more than $90,000 to ActBlue, the Democratic internet fundraising tool; and $25,000 each to the Planned Parenthood Texas Votes PAC and the Texas Organizing Project.

Annette Simmons, shown with her late husband Harold at a Dallas ball in 2013. (Kelly Alexander)

Her sister, Lisa Simmons, also has supported Democrats, though without as many zeroes on her checks.

Lisa Simmons, president of the Harold Simmons Foundation, has given Davis and Battleground Texas $4,000 since May. Serena Connelly is the foundation’s executive vice president.

The sometimes surprising “left turns” of the foundation and Simmons’ daughters were chronicled last year in this piece by the Center for Public Integrity. Among them was its donation of $600,000 to Planned Parenthood and its North Texas affiliate.

Serena Connelly and Lisa Simmons together control nearly 94 percent of Dallas-based Contran Corp., a closely held company with subsidiaries producing a chemical used in house paint and rayon clothing as well as manufacturing security products and recreational marine components, according to this February story by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Since Oct. 25, when candidates filed their last detailed reports on contributions and expenditures, Patrick has raised about $330,000 in late money, to Van de Putte’s $211,000. That’s not out of line with their overall financial effort. Though Patrick has outraised and outspent her, Van de Putte has kept it relatively close. And while Patrick aides complain she’s received major in-kind donations from Planned Parenthood, TOP and Battleground Texas, it was a major gift from one conservative PAC, $125,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, that kept Patrick ahead in the “telegram” reports on last-minute contributions.

Carona makes peace with Patrick, Van de Putte pulls more Planned Parenthood help

Sen. John Carona talks with a supporter in Dallas on primary night in March. (Kye R. Lee/Staff photographer)

Update at 3:25 p.m.: Have corrected date of Paul Reyes’ and Helen Carona’s contributions to Patrick: They gave on the same day in 2013, not this year.

Original item at 12:43 p.m.: Dallas state Sen. John Carona has continued to make peace with fellow Republican and lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick.

The political action committee at Carona’s business Associa Inc., which manages homeowners’ assocations across the country, gave Patrick $5,000 earlier this week, according to telegram reports to the Texas Ethics Commission.

As my colleague Terrence Stutz reported here nearly 2 1/2 years ago, Carona called Patrick a “snake oil salesman” and a “narcissist that would say anything to draw attention to himself.”

Patrick, R-Houston, said in an email to all senators that Carona had spread a false rumor that Patrick and his wife, Jan, were divorcing. Carona, R-Dallas, replied that Patrick should have first checked with him regarding the allegations before contacting their colleagues. Carona also raised the ante, mentioning rumors about Patrick’s sexual orientation as well. Patrick dismissed as “a lie” suggestions he is gay and demanded Carona apologize.

At the time, Carona didn’t. Late last year, though, the Associa PAC gave $30,000 to Patrick, even as Carona didn’t personally endorse him in the GOP lieutenant governor primary.

In March, Carona lost his Senate seat to tea party-backed Republican Don Huffines in a GOP primary. Since then, he has endorsed Patrick.

Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte shake hands at their televised debate last month. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

As I reported in a story in Wednesday’s newspaper, Associa executive Paul Reyes, a former Carona Senate staff aide, contributed $20,000 to Patrick. That was on top of $5,000 Reyes gave to Patrick in August 2013 — the same day Carona’s wife, Helen, chipped in $2,500 to the Patrick cause.

It appears that Associa may have some legislative irons in the fire.

Meanwhile, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, Patrick’s Democratic colleague and opponent for lieutenant governor, reported more than three times as many late contributions as did Patrick.

This week, she took in more than $82,000, to about $23,500 for Patrick.

Just more than half of the contributions on Van de Putte’s telegram reports came from groups supporting abortion rights. Planned Parenthood’s PACs in New York City and Austin donated nearly $30,000 of staff time, phone calls and postage. Annie’s List gave the San Antonio lawmaker a $13,000 check.

As I noted in Wednesday’s story, Patrick strategist Allen Blakemore belittled Van de Putte’s matching Patrick’s fundraising haul of $2 million between Sept. 26 and Saturday. Blakemore noted that one-third of her money was in-kind donations from Planned Parenthood, the liberal group Texas Organizing Project and voter-organizing Battleground Texas.

On Thursday morning, Logan Spence, a long-time Patrick aide, seized on the late assists from Planned Parenthood PACs as a sign Van de Putte would try to lead the Senate in a very different direction on abortion than Patrick would. But then we knew that, didn’t we?

Here’s Spence’s tweet on the subject:

Supreme Court won’t block Texas abortion restrictions

Abortion rights advocates protest state restrictions in the Texas Capitol.

WASHINGTON — A divided U.S. Supreme Court refused Tuesday to block new Texas restrictions on abortion clinics.

Planned Parenthood and other groups turned to the high court two weeks ago after losing at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Oct. 28, U.S District Judge Lee Yeakel issued an injunction, blocking implementation of the law, which requires abortion providers in Texas to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appealed to the 5th Circuit, which lifted the injunction on Oct. 31. That court will hear the case in January.

In the meantime, more than a dozen clinics across the state have halted abortion services. The procedure is no longer available in about one-third of the state.

Abortion providers turned to the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to have the 5th Circuit ruling overturned.

“This is good news both for the unborn and for the women of Texas, who are now better protected from shoddy abortion providers operating in dangerous conditions,” Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. “As always, Texas will continue doing everything we can to protect the culture of life in our state.”

Justices supporting the ruling wrote here.

“Reasonable minds can perhaps disagree about whether the Court of Appeals should have granted a stay in this case,” they wrote, but those seeking to block the Texas law pending trial fell far short of the required legal standards for the high court to step in. “It would flout core principles of federalism by mandating postponement of a state law without asserting that the law is even probably unconstitutional.“

Four liberal justices dissented. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote: “Although the injunction will ultimately be reinstated if the law is indeed invalid, the harms to the individual women whose rights it restricts while it remains in effect will be permanent.”

Abortion rights advocates were deeply disappointed.

“This isn’t over,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “This is outrageous and unacceptable -– and also demonstrates why we need stronger federal protections for women’s health.  Your rights and your ability to make your own medical decisions should not depend on your zip code.”

“The promise of our constitution and our judicial system is the equal protection of our rights against attacks like this law singling out women and the doctors they depend on. Today’s decision fundamentally fails to fulfill that promise for Texas women,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “The shattering stories of women turned away at clinic doors and denied their constitutional right to abortion are already numerous, and they multiply every single day this underhanded law is enforced.

 

Advocacy groups, providers sue Texas over new abortion restrictions

Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, stands with Texas state senators as she speaks at a news conference outside the Texas Capitol as the Texas House prepares to begin debate on an abortion bill, Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Abortion rights advocates filed a lawsuit Friday to overturn two elements of the state’s new abortion law set to take effect Oct. 29.

The suit claims it is unconstitutional for the state to mandate how doctors practice medicine especially when it countermands current best practices. The provision being challenged requires that physicians administering abortion pills follow FDA protocol, which opponents say is outdated and causes unnecessary side effects. The second challenge in the lawsuit is against the mandate that doctors gain admitting privileges at local hospitals

The Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are asking a federal judge to ban the law from taking effect as scheduled at the end of next month.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott speaks during an anti-abortion rally at the Texas Capitol, Monday, July 8, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican candidate for governor, has been clear about his support for the law. He will represent the state of Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

“When the battle leaves the statehouse, it is going to wind up in the courthouse,” Abbott said at an anti-abortion rally at the Capitol in July. “And when it does, in me you have an attorney general who has your back.”

Already, four abortion clinics announced they would close their doors as a result of the new law.

The law requires physicians performing surgical abortions or administering abortion pills to have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles from where the abortion is performed.

The law’s supporters say this provision is necessary because it allows the physicians to handle any emergency follow up care themselves. But hospitals are reluctant to extend privileges to doctors that don’t work there.

Each hospital can have different qualifications for obtaining privileges, including a minimum number of surgical hours logged, board certification, and personal preference.

Amy Hagstrom Miller, founder and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health, has only secured admitting privileges for two or the five abortion clinics she operates.

“It remains to be seen if I’ll be able to secure privileges for all of my physicians,” she said.

Court action stalled the implementation of similar laws in four of the eight states where they were passed.

The other issue challenged by the lawsuit is the requirement that abortion providers administering abortion-inducing medication follow FDA protocol.

State obstetricians testified against the protocol, saying that dosage amounts and administration techniques have been updated since the FDA’s approval over a decade ago.

Women will need to make a minimum of four trips to the doctor’s office in order to meet the requirements of both the new abortion law and the sonogram law, which went into effect in 2012.

Of the three states requiring doctors to follow FDA protocol, two have been overturned by the courts, but a similar law in Ohio has been upheld on appeal.

Supporters of the law say it’s designed to protect women’s health and make sure they are getting the best medical care, but opponents say it was created to shut down clinics.

The lawsuit does not challenge the ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Already, less than one percent of all abortions are performed after 20 weeks, though they can legally be provided for up to 24 weeks until Oct. 29th.

The requirement that all abortion facilities meet surgical center standards does not go into effect until next year, and was also not included in the lawsuit.

Abortion advocacy groups poised to file lawsuit over Texas’ new abortion law

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund speaks at a Planned Parenthood news conference on abortion legislation at Dallas City Hall on July 10, 2013. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News)

Abortion rights groups have announced a press conference, apparently to announce a lawsuit challenging the state’s new abortion restrictions set to take effect Oct. 29.

On Friday morning, the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood said they will announce “a new joint effort in support of women’s health.”

These three groups have come together in the past to challenge similar restrictions in other states.

The new law, going into effect at the end of next month, includes a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Additionally, it requires physicians performing surgical abortions or administering abortion-inducing medication to have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles from where the abortion is performed. Physicians will also be required to follow FDA protocol when administering abortion-inducing medication.

Another requirement that all abortion facilities meet the same standards as surgical centers goes into effect next year.

Fact check: Planned Parenthood web ad blurs distinctions

Staff Writer David Barer reported this fact check:

What: A Planned Parenthood Action Fund web ad has been running on this and other websites asserting Republican legislators, in particular Sen. John Carona of Dallas, could thwart women from accessing certain preventative health care if an abortion bill is passed.

The ad features Republican Sen. John Carona’s, R-Dallas, face alongside a woman’s and reads, “A Texas health center’s cancer screening could save her life. Closing the health center could further Sen. Carona’s political ambition. Act now before Friday’s vote.”

The ad appears on this blog and elsewhere on Dallasnews.com, as well as other news sites targeting other senators.

Facts: Under the proposed legislation requiring most abortion clinics to become surgical centers, many of the state’s clinics would be forced to perform expensive upgrades. Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, based on history in other states, say this would force most operators to close the clinics.

Planned Parenthood operates 10 abortion clinics in the state that would be mandated to raise to the new standards. The abortion clinics, by law, are separate entities and must be separately funded from health centers where cancer screenings take place.

Planned Parenthood officials acknowledged that, but said some abortion clinics and health centers are housed within the same buildings. She suggested that if it were too expensive to upgrade the abortion clinics, then it could also force a shut-down of the health care clinics in the same building.

Officials could not say how many of the 10 abortion clinics are adjacent or within the same building as health care centers.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, responded by email and cited 55 health care centers already have been shuttered in Texas.

That assertion is based on legislative funding cuts from two years ago and is not related to the pending legislation.

And the previously closed health centers are not related to the assertion made in the advertisement.

Health centers that do not provide abortions would not be affected by the legislation.

Carona’s office has declined to comment.

Obama at Dallas DNC dinner: George W. Bush loved Americans but Democrats have better policies

The Obamas arriving tonight in Dallas (staff/Kye R. Lee)

President Barack Obama is spending the night at the Omni hotel next the Dallas Convention Center. His motorcade just pulled in. The hotel is surrounded by police, barriers, and a fleet of DART buses. Guests have been going through metal detectors all day.

For a crowd of 60 or so high-dollar Democratic donors, Obama previewed his message at the Bush library grand opening. He’ll praise his predecessor. He’ll also reserve the right to suggest a different direction for the country.

“I’m really looking forward to attending the Bush library opening,” he said, adding, “Whatever our political differences, President Bush loves this country and loves its people and… was concerned about all people in America, not just those who voted Republican….

“But what’s also true is that policy matters. How we express that best part of ourselves is a matter of significant debate and it’s a matter of votes and it’s a matter or legislation, and budgets, and how we’re allocating resources,” he said.

The president spoke without notes for 17 minutes in a grand two-story dining room at the Aberly-Lebowitz home. And he made no bones about the partisan nature of the event.

“When Democrats have the opportunity to set the agenda, we don’t have a country where just a few are doing really, really well,” he said.

As for Texas, he said Democrats can’t back down even if they’ve had a long dry spell in statewide elections.

“I understand that Texas is a so-called red state but you’ve got 10 million Democrats here in Texas,” he said. “And beyond the fact that there are a whole lot of Democrats in Texas, there are a whole lot people here in Texas who need us.”

The president arrived at the Aberly home — a hard to describe mansion that looks something like a concert hall or catering facility, with lots of modern columns lit dramatically — about 7:17. Some 90 minutes later, the traveling entourage of reporters and photographers, staff and security rolled out behind the presidential limo.

(update: An astute reader points out that the home was designed by the renowned Philip Johnson. Some quick googling finds this site calling it “an architecturally significant modern estate home” with lots of photos.)

Hostess Naomi Aberly, a major supporter of Planned Parenthood, introduced Obama by thanking him for his support of reproductive rights. She also jokingly thanked George W. Bush — something she said she never expected to do — for providing a reason for Obama to come to town and meet with supporters.

When he arrived at Love Field, Obama chatted with Mayor Mike Rawlings and Rep. Marc Veasey. Veasey reported the president asked how things are going for him in Congress. “He said he’s hearing good things,” Veasey recounted.

First Lady Michelle Obama also chatted with the mayor and freshman congressman. Veasey said they talked about her “Let’s Move” initiative. He’s a big fan.

Planned Parenthood proponents lobby legislators and call for restored funding

AUSTIN — A sea of pink moved in and out of the Capitol halls today as Planned Parenthood advocates visited legislator offices.

Kicking off the day, a crowd of about 300 gathered in front of the statehouse to listen to senators and representatives before meeting with some lawmakers who weren’t necessarily on the same page, but were welcoming.

Supporters of Planned Parenthood, including one woman dressed as a pack of birth control pills, rally outside the Capitol on Thursday.

“One of our primary goals is to help educate legislators about preventative health services, and that’s why it’s so important for women to be there and share their stories,” said Danielle Wells, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas.

State Republican leaders want the group excluded because its affiliates provide abortions in separate, privately funded facilities.

The Texas Alliance for life, which will hold its own lobby day on March 20, says its goal is for the state to continue to not fund Planned Parenthood with family planning money and prevent them from being a provider for sexual education in Texas schools.

“There are ample alternative providers of family planning services to women and typically they offer comprehensive primary care, like prenatal care, which is a standard Planned Parenthood is unable to meet,” said Joe Pojman, executive director of Texas Alliance for Life.

Gov. Rick Perry has thrown his support behind anti-abortion bills like the identical House and Senate bill filed this week that would ban the procedure after 20 weeks under the theory that a fetus can experience pain.

The Legislature has targeted Planned Parenthood during the 2011 session, which banned affiliates of abortion providers from participating in the state women’s health program. The Texas Women’s Health Program took over for the federal Medicaid program after the government withdrew monetary support because of the affiliate ban, which was upheld in court. The federal government previously paid for 90 percent of the cost of the program, which provides care for low-income women. That cost will now be absorbed by the state.

Many of the Planned Parenthood rally-goers spoke about having trouble trusting the new state program after an online database of approved providers was found to have hundreds of inaccuracies, such as listing businesses unaffiliated with health care or clinics that were not enrolled in the program.

Alexis Lohse, a 32-year-old mother and Texas Christian University student, said when she called providers on the list she had a hard time finding a physician’s office with any openings in their schedule.

Lohse said she hopes the state will refund the provider and allow it back into the Texas Women’s Health Program.
Continue reading →

Anti-abortion advocates push to get Planned Parenthood out of schools

The latest assault on Planned Parenthood was launched Tuesday with a committee hearing a proposal to ban the organization from teaching or supplying materials about sex education to schools.

Dozens of people showed up to support a bill by Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, whose bill also would mandate schools notify parents when any outsider presents information regarding human sexuality.

Paxton said he is concerned that Planned Parenthood will attempt to promote a pro-abortion agenda to students.

Many of the speakers also said they distrusted Planned Parenthood and that they supported a strict abstinence-only curriculum. Teaching about contraception sends a mixed message to teenagers that premarital sex is acceptable, some of the parents testified.

The bill was left pending, but Education Committee chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said he liked the bill enough to become a co-author.

Current state law provides any sex education instruction in public schools must primarily stress abstinence. Parents must be notified about sex instructions offered by schools and and can keep their children out of that class if they chose.

Surveys show that about 70 percent of high school seniors in Texas are sexually active and the state has the fourth highest teenage pregnancy rate in the nation.

Last session, the Legislature de-funded Planned Parenthood and removed the organization from the women’s health program.

New coalition will try to get state to restore family planning funding

AUSTIN — A new bipartisan group will try to sway the state and ensure the restoration of family planning funding to the state preventive health care program.

The Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition, with the help of representatives Jessica Farrar, D-Houston; Donna Howard, D-Austin; Sarah Davis, R-Houston; and Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, intends to urge the Legislature to restore funding.

Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, addresses the press for the Texas Women's Healthcare Coalition. From left to right: Ana Li Cantu, Dr. Janet Realini, Howard, Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston.

The 2011 Legislature cut about $73.6 million out of the $111.5 million family planning budget for 2012-13 biennium, resulting in the loss of funding for about 147,000 Texans and more than 180 clinics, and the closure of more than 50 clinics.

“This is not about abortion, this is about prevention,” said Dr. Janet Realini, chair of the coalition’s steering committee.

The state family planning program is managed by the Department of State Health Services and funded through federal Title X dollars. The funding goes to clinics that provide low-income patients with STD testing and treatment, contraception, well-women exams and cancer screening exams.

Ana Vi Cantu, a mother of three living in South Texas and working while attending school, teared up at the Wednesday news conference saying her family planning clinic used to be open five days a week and now only stays open three days making it harder for her to get care.
Continue reading →