Program cuts will backfire

It is no secret that politicians throughout the U.S. are trying to save every penny they can – but cutting funding for family planning would simply be illogical.

First of all, if funding for family planning were cut, within nine short months, new costs would have arisen in the form of unplanned pregnancies that must be paid for by the state.

Secondly, for $1 million, providers of low-income family planning services see over 4,000 patients. If just 115 of those patients were to become pregnant and have a Medicaid-paid birth, it would cost Washington state $1 million.

The state has proposed cutting Take Charge, a program in which the federal government provides $9 to every state dollar – critical funding we cannot afford to lose! Cutting Take Charge could result in $50 million a year in new state pregnancy costs.

If the dollar symbols do not speak loudly enough, consider a family attempting to rebuild on the heels of the recession. Their inability to obtain family planning services could result in an unwanted pregnancy that might push them toward hunger or even homelessness. Why would funds be cut for programs that actually save the state money?

Katie Staudinger

Spokane