Legislators Opposed to Birth Control Seek to Deny Proven Family Planning Program to Younger Women
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules will vote today on a measure to exclude younger women, ages 15-17, from Wisconsin’s Family Planning Waiver program. This program currently provides comprehensive reproductive health care, including contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and cancer screenings, to uninsured, low-income women, ages 15-44, potentially serving nearly 50,000 Wisconsin women each year.
“We are profoundly disappointed that Senators Leibham and Welch and Representatives Grothman, Seratti, Gunderson and McCormick demonstrate such disregard for the basic health care needs of younger women. Wisconsin’s Family Planning Waiver can save numerous lives and prevent countless unintended pregnancies. The need for this program is evident – there are nearly 5,000 pregnancies among women ages 15-17 each year. Pregnancy prevention programs such as this one are the only proven means to make abortion less necessary,” notes Deborah Lukovich, NARAL Wisconsin’s Executive Director.
“Wisconsin’s Family Planning Waiver, 90% funded by the federal government, will save our state millions of dollars. A small investment in this pregnancy prevention program now ensures that most of the women served will avoid pregnancy in adolescence, never requiring Medicaid or BadgerCare assistance. After all, Medicaid pays for 85% of unintended teen pregnancies in Wisconsin each year,” adds Deborah Lukovich. “Most frightening, dismantling one aspect of this program will mean the loss of all federal funding,” she continues.
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