Family planning best choice

In a letter to the editor (“Beware of eugenics,” Jan. 29), the author wrote that more black women receive abortions than white women, which is untrue. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 41 percent of women who receive abortions are white, while 32 percent are black.

The real issue is that the government needs to step up its funding of family planning clinics so that fewer women find themselves in need of abortion.

I’m disappointed that the Medicaid Family Planning State Option, which would expand basic health care to millions of women, was dropped from the economic stimulus bill Jan. 27 because of misleading attacks and partisan politics. This provision would provide coverage to 2.3 million low-income women by 2014 and help 500,000 women avoid unplanned pregnancy.

The March of Dimes supports the provision, stating that enrolling women prior to pregnancy has “improved access to preventive care, reduced the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and generated Medicaid savings.”

The only way to reduce the number of abortions performed is to increase support for family planning. When family planning clinics are well-funded, more low-income women can learn about all their options, allowing them to make smarter decisions about their reproductive freedom.

Kelly Darrah

Cheney