Insufficient votes in the Senate for bringing up a bill for renewing the family planning and preventative care programme, may see the Women’s Health Programme on its way out.

According to Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, the measure is opposed by many Democrats, as it would formally ban the participation of Planned Parenthood.

A cash strapped budget has GOP lawmakers opposed to keeping money for family planning, unless the programme gets amended into another bill, or renewed with a special budget provision.

Democratic Rep. Garnet Coleman’s House Bill 2299, containing the same anti-abortion elements is the programme’s remaining hope, Deuell said. However, Coleman said HB 2299 locked up in the Calendars Committee will not be able to make it to the floor for being voted on.

Coleman’s passing of the first Women’s Health Programme bills in 1999 and 2001, saw both of them vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. He does not think the Women’s Health Programme is dead, but feels it is on life support.

The Women’s Health Programme had explicit restrictions, such as, no abortions or promotion of them by participating clinics, including no affliation with clinics that did. However, Planned Parenthood that has provided abortions at some of its clinics for the last five years, without receiving state or federal dollars, has been the biggest participant in the Women’s Health Programme.

In renewing the Women’s Health Programme, Deuell’s bill, would have written out all ‘specialty family planning clinics’ like Planned Parenthood in favour of clinics providing comprehensive health care, including a measure for eliminating the Women’s Health Programme, if Planned Parenthood sued the state successfully.