Age limits of contraceptive program may be raised

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Age limits of contraceptive program may be raised

By Stacy Forster, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 14, 2006

Madison - Opponents of a state-sponsored health care program that provides free contraceptives to girls age 15 to 17 said they are seeing stronger support for their effort to raise age requirements for the services.

An attempt to pass similar legislation in the last legislative session fell short because of tepid backing from some Republicans. But bill proponents said the measure's prospects have since improved.

The Senate is expected to vote soon on the measure, but it's not clear when the Assembly would take it up.

The controversial Healthy Women Program was the subject of a public hearing Tuesday by the Assembly's Committee on Family Law and the Senate's portion of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules.

Created under former Gov. Scott McCallum, a Republican, the family planning waiver program provides contraceptives and reproductive health care to more than 55,700 low-income women ages 15 to 45, according to January 2006 statistics.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend, pictured here), would narrow that age range to 18 to 45.

Because their individual incomes are below the program's standards, almost any girl 15 to 17 is able to enroll in the program and gain access to birth control.

Barring girls from receiving such services from the state would promote healthier sexual behavior among teenagers and would re-establish some parental rights, the bill's supporters said during the hearing.

Critics say federal funding for the health care program could be jeopardized if the program's eligibility requirements are changed. They also contend that the program helps reduce pregnancies by providing birth control and other health care services to teens who might not otherwise have access to them.

Teens disagree on measure
Brittany Macaulay, a 17-year-old who attends Madison East High School, said during the hearing that she understood why some of her peers might not feel comfortable talking to their parents about birth control and sex.

"Teens need more access to health care and information, not less," Macaulay said. "This puts the health of me and my peers at great risk."

But Lucy Winnowski, a 15-year-old from Madison who attends private St. Ambrose Academy, said raising the age requirement would help create stronger families.

"Parents are in the family to teach their children morals and what's going to happen to them when they grow up," Winnowski said. "If this trust is broken, the children will grow up and not know how to be parents themselves."

Bill supporters say minors should not have access to birth control without their parents' knowledge.

"We have a situation where young girls are provided free birth control without parents' consent," Grothman said. He called the program as it stands "bad for a variety of reasons," such as the possibility that it encourages sexual activity among teens and enables greater spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Critics of the measure testified that the program was working as intended by helping to give teenagers information about reproductive health care and addressing the societal consequences of teen pregnancy.

"When we give teens accurate information about sex, we empower them to make healthy choices," said Kelda Helen Roys, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin.

It's Grothman's second attempt at changing the program's requirements; he said lawmakers were "bamboozled" about the program when it was initially passed.

During the last session, similar legislation stalled because of opposition from some Republican lawmakers; former Majority Leader Mary Panzer (R-West Bend), whom Grothman defeated in a September 2004 Republican primary, was believed to be one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of the bill's adoption.

Grothman said he intends to hold a committee vote on the bill later this week and predicted it would pass. Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) supports the bill and anticipates scheduling it for a full Senate vote once it passes out of committee, said Schultz spokesman Todd Allbaugh.

Assembly Majority Leader Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) said the bill has seen support in the past, but Assembly Republicans haven't decided yet whether to move forward with it this session. Rep. Carol Owens (R-Oshkosh), chair of the Assembly's Family Law Committee, said she expects a committee vote later this week.

Grothman said a handful of the 21 other states with similar programs limit the programs to adults, adding that he doesn't believe the change would affect funding for the family planning waiver or any other Medicaid program.

Savings are disputed
The state saved $3.3 million in 2003, the first year of the program, by preventing about 1,275 unwanted pregnancies, according to estimates from the state Department of Health and Family Services. Those estimates are disputed, however, by Grothman and groups that oppose abortion.

The department said more recent statistics aren't yet available.

There were 1,856 children born to Wisconsin women under age 18 in 2004, down from 2,324 in 2000, according to department statistics.

The department projects annual savings of $7.4 million. Doyle opposes the bill because of that potential loss in savings, as well as the possibility that benefits of the program beyond contraceptives - such as screenings for cervical cancer - would be curtailed if the age requirements are changed, said Doyle spokesman Dan Leistikow.

Supporters of the bill said the societal consequences of providing birth control to minors without their parents' knowledge were greater than fiscal costs.

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