Abortion Funds: Bridging the Gap in Reproductive Health Care Where Texas and Hyde Won't

On Sunday, October 20, 2013, The Burnt Orange Report released a commentary about abortion funds.  This commentary is about the funds for abortions being relatively low, and how the Hyde Amendment comes into effect with the abortion funds.  The Hyde Amendment provides certain federal funds to pay for abortions with exceptions for incest and rape.  So that means that women who want to have an abortion as a choice have to pay out of pocket.  The cost for an abortion is expensive, it can be anywhere between $400-$2000.  The price is different for every woman, it is depending on how far along she is in her pregnancy. Health care benefits do not cover abortions, due to the Hyde Amendment.  The author is strictly directing her argument for women living in poverty, which are blacks and hispanics. The author's argument about the Hyde Amendment is credible, i think that women should be able to have access to a safe abortion no matter the reason.  The author believes that there would be more health justice if the Hyde Amendment were repealed, if Texas expanded Medicaid under the new health care law, and if Texas took a real initiative to make reproductive health care services accessible to all people.  I agree with the author's argument, i believe that if health care was not so limited the percentage of uninsured people will decrease.  As of now, Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the entire nation.  The author states that with Hyde in place, Texas should act on every opportunity to enhance the state of our health care. Until that happens, and until Hyde is repealed, abortion funds will continue to work to ensure that all people can access crucial, life-saving abortion care. 

Some SAT News is Discouraging

On Thursday, September 26, 2013, The Star-Telegram posted an editorial titled Some SAT News is Discouraging.  This editorial is about a low percentage of students who take the SAT's further their education to a college career. Only 43 percent of high school students actually take the SAT's, this number is relatively low.  The College Board announced that it has been virtually unchanged for the past 5 years, meaning they do not need to take action on it.  However, College Board President, David Coleman said the stagnant scores are "a call for action."  His proposal was dramatically increasing the number of students in K-12 who are prepared for college and careers by transforming the daily work that students do in classrooms.  I agree with Coleman, I believe that we need to make some serious changes in our Texas public schools. Significantly, more students are taking AP exams rather than the SAT's.  Why?  Presumably, the SAT tests are not related to the coursework that students do. It is far more complex, causing students to get discouraged to take them.  When I attended high school, I did not take the SAT's due to the fact that I was not pushed to take them, and it was not an important factor in my high school.  They cared more about preparing students for the TAKS tests instead of the SAT's.  For that matter, I was not at all prepared for college, much less a university.   I believe that Coleman's proposal should be affected immediately because our Texas public schools need that dramatic change.