Impact of teen contraceptive bill called big

defending the First Amendment against the Christian right ...

... because if Jews don't speak out, they'll think we don't mind

Web JewsOnFirst

Optional Member Code

Please email us
(click here)
catcher@JewsOnFirst.org

And "bookmark" us at
JewsOnFirst.org

Jews on First
P.O. Box 2283
Rockville MD 20847

310-910-9153

Impact of teen contraception bill called big

Critics say it could gut larger program

By Judith Davidoff, The Capital Times, February 14, 2006

As an intern with the city of Milwaukee in 2002, Stephanie Montgomery earned $1,300 a month through a university fellowship.

Without health insurance, Montgomery found herself scrambling for low-cost medical care.

Because she was enrolled in an out-of-state graduate school, she could not qualify for campus health services. She also wasn't eligible for BadgerCare, Wisconsin's health care plan for low-income families, because she didn't have children.

She turned to Planned Parenthood, where she paid a sliding fee for preventative reproductive health care and contraception. Then, in January 2003, she learned of a new state program that would cover the costs of a Pap smear, contraception and other services.

"It was really great," recalls Montgomery, who now has a job with health insurance. "When you're living on $1,300 a month, an annual exam could be quite prohibitive."

But Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, has introduced legislation that, say critics, could gut the whole program.

The Assembly Committee on Family Law and the Senate Committee for Review of Administrative Rules scheduled a joint hearing today on Senate Bill 552, and its companion Assembly Bill 991, that would bar girls ages 15 to 17 from receiving birth control or other services through the program.

Grothman did not return several phone calls for comment.

The state's Medicaid Family Planning Demonstration project has two related goals: to reduce unintended pregnancies by increasing access to contraception, and to cut birth-related costs that would otherwise be paid for by Medicaid.

The federal government covers nearly 80 percent of the program's cost; the state picks up the rest.

The program offers women between age 15 and 44 several free health services, including Pap tests (which identify changes in cells taken from the cervix that may indicate actual or potential cancer), screening for sexually transmitted diseases and cancer, contraception and routine preventative primary care services.

Women whose family income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible. For a single woman, that's an annual income of about $18,129.

State officials deem the program, which as of December was serving about 55,000 women, a resounding success. In the first year alone, the state determined the program saved $3.3 million in Medicaid expenses, based on the estimated number of averted births in that year.

Evaluators also found that approximately one-third of the women in the program were getting contraceptive care for the first time. Nearly half of the enrollees are teens ages 15 to 19.

Grothman said in a news release that providing birth control to teens is an endorsement of early sexuality and constitutes a "war on Christianity and the traditional values held by most Wisconsin residents."

"To send the message to our young people, through the Family Planning Waiver, that early sexual activity is to be expected is a direct contradiction of the personal and religious beliefs held by the majority of parents in the state," Grothman said.

While there appears to be little polling data on public opinion regarding contraception for teens, there are data indicating widespread support in general for access to contraception - even among traditionally conservative voters.

A national poll released this June by the Republican polling firm American Viewpoint, based in Virginia, found that 85 percent of voters, including four in five Republicans and eight in 10 self-identified pro-lifers, said that women should have access to birth control medications or devices.

Nicole Safar, a public policy analyst for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, says that Grothman's bill, if passed, would jeopardize the entire program.

"If teens are barred from the program, it will cease to exist," she said.

Safar said the federal government signed off on the program with the understanding that 15-, 16- and 17-year-old girls would be eligible for its services.

"If this very integral piece is removed we'd no longer be eligible," she said. "Then the entire program will go away. It's very dangerous."

Diane Welsh, chair of the Family Planning Council, which provides advice to the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services on family planning issues, said the state would have to seek an amendment to the waiver if teens were banned from getting services.

"We can't just unilaterally change our ages," Welsh said. Welsh said she does not know how federal officials would respond to such a request.

And, she added, it's not something department officials want to do.

"We have a strong interest in preventing unintended pregnancies in women of all ages, especially teens," she said. "We think it's appropriate to offer teens access to family planning programs."

Welsh said national research by the Guttmacher Institute found that many teens who participate in such programs are doing it with their parents' knowledge and support.

"Senator Grothman's concerns appear to be unfounded," Welsh said.

Fair Use Statement: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.