As a medical student training in Northeast Ohio, I’ve watched our healthcare safety net unravel from both sides of the exam table. The defunding of Planned Parenthood and the rollback of Medicaid access aren’t isolated events. They’re twin maneuvers in a broader strategy to shrink public health infrastructure under the guise of fiscal discipline.

In places like Akron, Kent, and Ravenna, this isn’t an abstract culture war. It’s a direct attack on healthcare access for working class, rural and young residents.

Planned Parenthood’s Akron and Kent locations served thousands patients annually before federal funding restrictions hit. These clinics provide crucial cancer screenings, contraception, STI testing and prenatal referrals. These services are not political luxuries − they are preventat

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