TO THE EDITORS:

For communities like ours, local health centers are where many women turn for trusted health care. Community health centers, like Planned Parenthood, often serve as an entry point for essential health care needs and are often the only health care some women receive.

Today, one of every four women who receives contraceptive care does so at a women's health center. One in six who obtains a Pap Test or a pelvic exam does so at a women's health center, as do one-third of women who receive counseling, testing or treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.

This basic health care is essential, particularly during difficult economic times, to give women the tools they need to protect and support their families. This is especially true when you consider that women of childbearing age spend a remarkable 68 percent more for out-of-pocket health care costs than men, in part, because of reproductive health-related needs.

Women's reproductive health care is mainstream health care, and 98 percent of all women use contraception at some points in their lives. We must not allow our legislators to leave women worse off after health care reform than they already are today.

Kim Custer
President/CEO

Planned Parenthood of

Northeast and Mid-Penn