It's hard to believe, but The Oregonian did the right thing.

The Oregonian ran the following op-ed piece yesterday. It's a strong article which puts the issues in exactly the right framework. Thanks to Stacy M. Cross, Lisa A. Gardner and Mary Nolan for writing it and to The Oregonian for publishing it!

Protecting health care for thousands of Oregonians (Opinion) 
In recent years, some politicians across the country and here in Oregon have been working overtime to strip away people's access to basic health care at Planned Parenthood and other trusted women's health providers. Favoring good medical practice over ideology, President Obama this month finalized a new rule to protect access to health care for millions of Americans. The rule ensures patients can access care at qualified healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood.

Title X was signed into law by President Richard Nixon, who meant for it to help ensure that every person -- regardless of where they live, how much money they make or whether or not they have health insurance -- has access to basic, preventive reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood health centers provide care for approximately 1.5 million patients through Title X, roughly one-third of the more than 4 million people served by the program nationwide. By protecting this program, President Obama is protecting health care for people with low income or who might not have access to other providers. He is taking steps to ensure that women across the country, regardless of their ZIP code, have access to lifesaving cancer screenings, testing for sexually transmitted infections, birth control and other vital care.

Here in Oregon, our health centers welcome more than 100,000 patient visits every year. Women, men and young people turn to us for many reasons. They know and trust our clinicians because we're part of their community, and because they know they will get high-quality, affordable care.

The Title X program is a fundamental part of our ability to deliver affordable health care to so many people in our community, making it even more important that this program is protected from political attacks.

Read the rest here.