The political fight over the funding of Planned Parenthood could be felt in rural Scott County, Ind., where this year there was a rush to get HIV tests after 180 people tested positive. But there was no place to get testing services.
The area's sole HIV testing center closed its doors in 2013 during an early campaign against Planned Parenthood.
The organization was then attacked by conservatives who rallied against the clinics' sporadic practice of performing abortions. The clinic in Scott County did not perform abortions.
All summer, Planned Parenthood has been criticized after undercover videos showed staff members talking about fetal tissue donation, the sale of which is illegal. Planned Parenthood said the videos were heavily edited and denied any wrongdoing.
But a firestorm erupted and now conservative Republicans on the Hill are following Indiana's lead. They say they will not vote for a federal budget that includes any Planned Parenthood funding.
The first of what is expected to be several congressional hearings on Planned Parenthood practices was held last week, with strong statements from both sides of the aisle.
“I really regret that these lawmakers want to insert themselves into what should be a sacred issue in women's lives,” said Betty Cockrum, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
Cockrum added that the political debate has hurt women in Indiana, which already ranked poorly in offering reproductive health services. In 2011, state lawmakers passed a bill defunding Planned Parenthood. The move later was found unconstitutional by the courts.
But Indiana lawmakers have continued to slash various sources of Planned Parenthood funding at a time when the cost to operate a medical facility is rising.