Family Planning Funding Cuts

As professionals in medicine, public health, public administration, law and university teaching, we are deeply concerned about a serious health crisis in California.

Governor Deukmejian has cut the state’s budget for women’s health care and family planning services from $36.2 million to $12 million dollars for fiscal year 1989-90.

In the past year, about one-half-million women were served in 473 state-subsidized clinics for contraceptive services, breast and cervical cancer screening, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy testing and counseling, prenatal care, and AIDS antibody testing. This funding is not allocated for abortions.

In Los Angeles County, 82 state-subsidized clinics serve 150,000 to 170,000 low-income women a year who have no health insurance and are not eligible for MediCal. This two-thirds decrease in State funding will mean at least a 50% cut in the number of women served, many of whom have no other source of health care.

The Governor has justified the cuts by claiming that these clinics have failed to stop the increase in teen-age pregnancies in California. In fact, however, a recent study from the Institute of Health Policy Studies of the University of California, San Francisco, projects that an additional 86,000 unintended pregnancies will occur this fiscal year in California if the budget cuts are not reversed. Furthermore, this will cost the State $285 million dollars in medical care and social services.

Currently, the State saves $12.20 for every dollar it spends on contraceptive services. It is estimated that in Los Angeles alone, there will be an additional 10,000 abortions as a direct result of the cuts.

The Emergency Committee for Women’s Health is a newly created organization in Los Angeles County that is participating in a state-wide campaign to restore the funds for women’s health and family planning services.

Emergency Committee for Women’s Health

DR. DANIEL R. MISHELL JR.

Chairman, Obstetrics and Gynecology, USC

DR. ROY M. PITKIN

Chairman, Obstetrics and Gynecology, UCLA

RUTH ROEMER

Professor, UCLA School of Public Health

JOAN SEKLER

Committee Chairperson