Most recently, Wisconsin has found itself in a debate over the state’s Medicaid program because it wants to expand birth control coverage for low-income residents, including free contraception, Pap smears and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. Wisconsin applied in June for federal funding to raise the qualifying income minimum from $21,600 to $32,490, hoping to extend the program’s reach.

With all the criticism that has arisen from conservative groups, this must be the first time any state has tried to receive funding for this cause, right? Wrong. “Twenty-six other states already provide free contraception and other reproductive health services through a Medicaid pilot to lower-earning women who otherwise wouldn’t qualify,” according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Interestingly enough, half of those states are from the Midwest, too: Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri.

Perhaps my understanding and support of this funding is generational, but the prevention of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive issues for low-income individuals just seems logical.

Wisconsin’s federal Medicaid funding reimburses 90 percent of the cost of most family-planning services, so with 53,000 people reciving this aid in the state, Wisconsin spent $18.4 million on the program in 2008, according to WSJ. In comparison, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimates that the program prevented 11,064 unplanned pregnancies, which means they saved an estimated $139.1 million in expenses that would have gone to the birth and care of those children. As Jason Helgerson, Wisconsin’s Medicaid Director, told The Wall Street Journal, “Regardless of your political stripes, I don’t think anybody wants [unplanned pregnancies].”

The request for extra funding has been called “insane” by Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, but what’s insane is that anyone would oppose the expansion of a program that is aiming to better the health and lives of individuals who do not have access to the same precautionary care as everyone else. To only care about a woman after she already has an unwanted pregnancy is irresponsible. And what about the children? They didn’t have a say in the matter, and they are most likely being born into a familial and financial situation that cannot support and nurture them to adulthood. Had their mother been given access to birth control, she could have waited until she was emotionally and financially ready and able to become pregnant.

On that same note, a substantial number of unplanned pregnancies are teenage pregnancies. According to documents from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, eight percent of the births that occurred in 2008 in Wisconsin were to teen moms (less than 20 years of age), accounting for 6,096 births. Pregnant teenagers are more likely to smoke during pregnancy and their babies are at a higher risk to have a low birth weight and die in infancy.

That being said, it’s absolutely puzzling that one of the key details that is upsetting critics is that this Medicaid program is available without parental notification to residents at least 15 years old. A multitude of factors contribute to the need for this availability, but one of the biggest is the lack of support and honesty teens receive from their parents when it comes to sex. An alarming number of parents are too timid to have “the talk” with their children, which is where Medicaid picks up the slack by giving these teens the resources they need to make responsible decisions if and when they choose to be sexually active.

Thankfully, although to the dismay of the state’s conservatives, the Democrats currently dominate the legislature and the governor’s office, leaving hope that this program will push its way through.