Minnesota GOP seeks to defund family planning programs
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 8:45 am
- 10 Comments
Senate Republicans are working to defund family planning programs in Minnesota and prevent the state from accepting federal family planning dollars. The health and human services budget bill slashes money for programs that provide services to families either seeking to become pregnant or to prevent becoming pregnant. Those funds cannot be used to perform abortions or provide referrals to abortion services. The move mirrors a push by Republicans at the federal level to defund Planned Parenthood. Along with county public health departments, Planned Parenthood clinics in Minnesota are a major beneficiary of family planning funds.
The Health and Human Services Omnibus bill would repeal statute 145.925, which is the state’s family planning grant program. Those grants support county health departments, Planned Parenthood clinics and other community clinic throughout the state.
The omnibus bill not only stops funding for the state family planning grant program but also prohibits the state from accepting federal grants for family planning.
“The state shall not appropriate state funds or accept federal funds for family planning special projects or family planning services,” the omnibus bill states.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the Family Planning Special Projects Grants, one of the programs proposed for elimination, provided services to more than 40,000 people from July 2008 to June 2009. Counseling services were provided to 28,728 people, and 24,096 Minnesotans received exams, prescriptions and other medical services. Two-thirds of those people had income levels at the federal poverty line and 83 percent had incomes less than 200 percent of the poverty line.
The grant programs include birth control education and counseling, child-spacing counseling, screenings for breast and cervical cancer, community education events and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The program cost about $10 million last biennium and has been in place since 1978.
Also slated for elimination is the Minnesota Family Planning Program, a Medicaid State 1115 Waiver Program Demonstration Project. The federally supported program allows low-income women to enroll in a family planning health care program that covers the cost of contraception services, voluntary sterilization services, birth control counseling and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Update: The repeal of federally supported family planning programs has been removed from the bill.
In Montana, Republicans have proposed a similar policy of eliminating family planning, and they’re doing it because they don’t want money going to Planned Parenthood. At the federal level, House Republicans have proposed elimination of family planning dollars in a move to defund Planned Parenthood.
Neither the federal government nor Minnesota allow abortion services to be paid for with family planning funds.
The health and human services omnibus bill is currently being heard in committees, and could see a vote on the Senate floor this week.
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Comment posted March 29, 2011 @ 10:45 am
Gov. Dayton would be wise to VETO this.
The MNGOP and Republicans in general, do not care about the people! They are for Family Values…THEIRS!!!! They want birth Control for THEIR daughtdrs, but not YOURS!! Are they going to take care of all the babies that are concieved because they deem Minnesota women unfit to benifit from Education and access to Birth Control?
GOP Bastards! The lot of them!!
Comment posted March 29, 2011 @ 10:57 am
This bill will do nothing but make it harder for minors to get quality health care that they can trust. It will harm the most vulnerable minors – those who are victims of sexual assault – and yield no benefits.
Comment posted March 29, 2011 @ 11:11 am
They are bastards! Without a doubt.
Just in case anyone is interested, the author of this bill is David Hann – Dist. 42 – representing Eden Prairie and Minnetonka.
Comment posted March 29, 2011 @ 11:58 am
Wow,
The program provided 90,000 services in one years time to Minnesotans who needed it. The kicker is the bill is written to reject Federal funds as well insuring a closure of all of these facilities.
Obviously it will be vetoed so why waste time on a bill to slash jobs and discriminate against children and the poor who need it most.
Again what scares me most are the people that follow these corrupt leaders.
Budget cuts. Cut legislators pay by 10% then people will look at making there own cuts. Lead by example.
Pingback posted March 29, 2011 @ 2:19 pm
[...] complicated by the demands of anti-abortion lawmakers. Andy Birkey of the Minnesota Independent reports that Republicans in the Minnesota state senate want to eliminate family planning programs and also [...]
Comment posted March 30, 2011 @ 8:54 pm
Katie B wrote,
“This bill will do nothing but make it harder for minors to get quality health care that they can trust. It will harm the most vulnerable minors – those who are victims of sexual assault – and yield no benefits.”
Indeed, this bill is hugely counterproductive. It’s a program of anti-morality. It takes proven methods of enhancing human life and tosses them out. Why? Because of ideological extremism. Because of the elevation of a conservative Christian purist vision above practical realities. Because of “pro-life radicalism.
That a bill like this would have more anti-life consequences than actually providing funding to PP doesn’t matter to these zealots. As long as they can engage in moral self-congratulation, that’s all that counts.
Comment posted March 31, 2011 @ 2:05 am
Because planned families are such a burden on society. This is church doctrine, not public policy.
Comment posted March 31, 2011 @ 9:22 pm
why don’t u red states just secede from the union. stop funding family planning at the same time cutting funding for helping families. teabaggers show how inept home schooling it. i am happy that i live in a blue state where the rethugs are not allowed to trounce on our rights. the republican taliban is in the house. keep over reaching, i love that rethugs are showing their hand early in the game and allowing people with a conscience and people who really care about children, and familes to get their game together. what happened to small gov rethugs. why are rethugs so fixated on my sexual organs. sexually repressed bunch of perverts. u don’t want your tax dollars to pay for family planning and i don’t want my tax dollars going to israel to kill innocent palestinian babies or iraqi babies. u rethugs have a screw loose. thank goodness for the wondrful blues state i live in and the blue state governor. we respect women in my state
Comment posted April 1, 2011 @ 12:39 pm
For all the babies that will be born to women who needed assistance because the Pro-Life Republicans despise Birth Control, have them drop off the babies at the doorsteps of those Republican Senators and Reps to take care of.
Here’s a great letter to affix to every Baby dropped off at the doorsteps after the doorbell has been rung.
HI!! I am the product of your compassion! My mother was denied Birth Control and Child Services as a result of your Cost Cutting measures. My Mother cannot afford to feed and clothe me. SHe did not want to Abort me because you are against that too. So she, out of respect for ME, has left ME with YOU to care for, feed, and provide me with Health Care.. Or are you going to hand ME over to a Department that YOU have cut fuinding for? Nice situation YOU caused for so many in MInnesota!
This is a message that every Republican in Minnesota should be presented with. BAstards the lot of them! Who is more Pro-Life now?
Comment posted April 2, 2011 @ 4:23 pm
Since the increasing birthrates are among the non-whites, this decision will ultimately bring about the demise of the Grand Oppression Party in Minnesota. These new predominantly non-whites births will become future Minnesota voters.
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