Florida leg. rejects proposal to shift taxpayer funding from CPCs to family planning
As the Florida House and Senate discussed their budget proposals yesterday, Democrats in both houses introduced amendments that would have cut funding for so-called crisis pregnancy centers , which counsel women against abortions, into family planning services provided by country health departments.
Jul 31, 2020112.2K Shares2.3M Views
As the Florida House and Senate discussed their budget proposals yesterday, Democrats in both houses introduced amendments that would have cut funding for so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel women against abortions, into family planning services provided by country health departments. #
The Senate’s versionwould have shifted $1 million, half of the total general revenue appropriation for crisis centers, and would also have barred the centers from spending state funds on advertising and billboards and required 90 percent of their funding to go to client services. #
Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, who sponsored the amendment, said the shift would actually help reduce the number of women seeking abortions. #
“„National studies find that for every dollar spent on family planning, we save $24 in health care costs. These estimates of savings do not include longer term savings such as fewer exceptional need school age children due to fewer low-birth weight babies or lower rates of child abuse. Child abuse is more likely in low-birth weight babies or babies from unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. #
… #
For every $1.00 spent on family planning services, and estimated $4.36 is saved as a result of averting expenditures for public programs that support women with unintended pregnancies and their infants. #
Do crisis pregnancy centers boast that kind of bang for the buck? #
Rep. Chuck Chestnut, D-Gainesville, sponsored a version in the House that would have shifted the $2 million appropriation away from the centers. Both measures were rejected after voice votes. #
Both the House and the Senate have proposed $4.25 million in general revenue for family planning grants to local governments. The House has proposed nearly $4.8 million. #
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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