Planned Parenthood concerned about Trump’s HHS pick

Planned Parenthood says President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the country’s Health and Human Services Department is troubling and could jeopardize women’s health.

Planned Parenthood claims millions of people will lose access to health care, under the leadership of Tom Price.

“We are concerned this appointment could set women back in this country many years,” said Jenna Tosh, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Central Coast.

The local facility serves 36,000 patients each year.

Tosh said she is particularly concerned about Price’s voting history and routinely favoring legislation that restricts access to legal abortions. She believes if Price gets his way, millions of women would be cut off from all of Planned Parenthood’s services.

“So, having a Secretary of Health and Human Services that opposes the Affordable Care Act, that opposes funding at Planned Parenthood for services like breast and cervical cancer screenings, (STD) sexually transmitted disease testing and birth control sends a grave signal to women across the country,” Tosh said.

Hans Kistner, Senior Pastor at the First Baptist Church, said he does not endorse political candidates. However, he will share his convictions.

“The government supporting Planned Parenthood is our country affirming abortion in a very direct way,” Kistner said.

Kistner believes all non-profit organizations should raise their own funds.

“That might be more appropriate and more fair and allow people to pay taxes with confidence that their money is not going to some purposes that are in conflict with their faiths and their beliefs,” Kistner said.

Planned Parenthood receives roughly $500 million dollars in funding from the government each year. The group said 3 percent of the services it provided last year were abortion-related.