Pregnancy Prevention Program Well Worth Keeping

In a baffling suspension of common sense, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee recently voted to dismantle Title X, the nation’s family planning (pregnancy prevention) program.

Just last March, many of these same House members - including Rep. George Nethercutt - voted for a welfare reform bill that contains an “illegitimacy ratio,” a “family cap,” and denial of cash benefits to teen mothers. On the one hand Congress admonishes poor women to stop having babies while, on the other hand, it denies these women the very means to do so.

Title X was developed in 1970 under President Nixon and has served several millions of poor and low-income Americans since. It has a long history of bipartisan support. Administered under the Public Health Services Act, Title X grants money for family planning and reproductive health care services to more than 5,000 clinics nationwide. Although not its largest grant, it is a significant source of funding for Planned Parenthood.

Title X clinics complement the private health care system in several ways. They serve Medicaid-eligible women when other providers may not have room for them. They provide subsidized services to low-income women who are not eligible for Medicaid. They typically offer more extensive counseling on contraceptive methods. They provide confidential services to teenagers and others who may not be able to discuss reproductive health issues with their regular physicians. And they offer contraceptive supplies at a lower cost than is available elsewhere.

Title X money has never paid for abortions.

In spite of a long history of support, the House Appropriations Committee voted on July 20 to dismantle Title X and disburse its $193 million budget to other state and social service programs. None of these funds would be earmarked for family planning services. We know from past experience that certain states place a higher priority on the provision of family planning than others. Without federal oversight, some states likely would restrict access to the full range of contraceptive options.

Why destroy the nation’s most successful pregnancy prevention program? The New York Times and the Washington Post reported that many Republican lawmakers saw the vote against Title X as a “payback” to the far right for electing them into office.

After introducing the amendment to dismantle Title X, Committee Chairman Robert Livingston, R-La., was quoted as saying, “Today is payback time.” This follows a recent announcement by The Christian Coalition that it has launched a “National Campaign to Defund Planned Parenthood.”

We believe Congress is misreading the majority of voters who put its members into office. The majority of voters in Eastern Washington who elected George Nethercutt to be their representative are not members of the radical right. Indeed, many of them are supporters of Planned Parenthood. We believe these common-sense voters will be alarmed at his voting record against family planning and reproductive rights.

Most baffling is Nethercutt’s vote to kill Title X. This publicly funded family planning program for low-income women enjoys overwhelming public support. An April 1995 CBS/New York Times poll asked whether the government should pay for birth control for unmarried women on welfare. Among all respondents, 76 percent replied yes; 71 percent of self-described Republicans answered affirmatively.

This year, Planned Parenthood of Spokane and Whitman Counties received $205,000 in Title X money with which to serve more than 10,000 Inland Northwest residents. The money allows us to offer discounted services to clients who might otherwise not have access to any health care.

Title X services are not limited to family planning. They also include hypertension and anemia screening, Pap tests, breast and cervical cancer screening, breast exams, pelvic exams, screening for sexually transmitted infections, as well as contraception.

Family planning services are among the most cost-effective government subsidized programs.

A recent study estimated that for every public dollar spent in providing birth control to poor women, taxpayers save $4.40 in social welfare costs. An editorial in the American Journal of Public Health said, “Preventing unintended pregnancy is an unambiguously desirable national goal. It saves economic resources, mitigates human misery, and reduces the need for recourse to induced abortion.”

A woman’s reproductive years span half of her lifetime. It is simply unrealistic to expect her to limit her family size and act responsibly without providing her the means to do so. At a time when we are working to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancy in America, we should be making birth control more accessible, not less.

We still have an opportunity with the full House and full Senate to save Title X. Barring that, we hope President Clinton will exercise his veto power.

Planned Parenthood will be working diligently to appeal to the common sense of our elected representatives. We urge you to do the same.

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