Statement issued Friday:

(INDIANAPOLIS) – Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) President and CEO Betty Cockrum today said it is an outrage to shut down the federal government over an extreme proposal that would deny millions of American women preventive health care. In Indiana, about 22,000 Hoosiers rely on federal family planning and Medicaid funding for preventive care at Planned Parenthood health centers such as Pap tests, breast exams, birth control and STD testing and treatment.

The rider regarding Planned Parenthood proposed in Congress would bar Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid and federal family planning dollars that pay for direct patient care. Not a penny of the money goes toward abortion. This is mandated by federal law.

“It’s an outrage to shut down the federal government over an extreme proposal that would deny millions of women Pap tests, breast cancer screenings and birth control,” said PPIN President and CEO Betty Cockrum. “Attacking Planned Parenthood’s preventive health care hurts women, does not cut the deficit or fix the economy, and must be stopped.”

“Here in Indiana, passage of the rider would mean that 22,000 Hoosiers could lose access to preventive health care like cancer screenings and birth control,” Cockrum continued.

Planned Parenthood is a mainstream health care organization. One in five women has received health care in her lifetime at a Planned Parenthood health center.

Ninety-four percent of the health care Planned Parenthood of Indiana provides each year is preventive:

• 26,500 Pap tests to detect cervical cancer

• 29,000 breast exams

• 386,000 units of affordable birth control

• 73,000 tests for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV testing

Read this fact sheet on Planned Parenthood health services around the nation:http://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/PPFA/Planned_Parenthood_Who_We_Are.pdf