Family Planning Services
for Low-Income Women on the Chopping Block in Washington State

New Washington
state Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposed state budget "would eliminate about $1 million
in funding over two years for nurses providing direct family-planning services
to women in community service offices around the state,"
reports Erica C. Barnett on the
Slog.  Barnett points out that the
services the nurses provide cut costs –  prenatal
care, cancer screening, annual exams, and birth control – in the long run.  Barnett writes,

Karen Cooper, director of
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, calls the proposal to cut the nurses’ funding
"stupid," both because it leverages so much federal money and because
it will only cost the state more in the medium to long run. "Obviously,
there are going to be cuts, but they need to be thoughtful and smart. You don’t
cut things that end up costing you more money," Cooper says. "If
cutting birth control means there are more babies born in this state, it doesn’t
take a rocket scientist to figure out that that’s going to increase [the
state’s] expenses. Birth control is cheaper than babies." 

 

Republican Party
Should Continue to Support Human Life Amendment, Says President Bush

In an interview with Town Hall columnist Cal Thomas,
President Bush defended his anti-choice legacy and said that the Republican Party
should continue to support the Human Life Amendment.  "I will be the first to concede that laws
change only after hearts change, but our party has been on the leading edge of
saying to people there’s a better way than what took place in the past in the
country on a very sensitive issue like abortion," he said.  For what LifeNews.com thinks of Bush’s
legacy, look here. 

Arizona to Allow Anti-Choice License Plates

Before the holiday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry sought to burnish
his anti-choice bona fides by supporting anti-choice license plates in his
states.  Now, the plates story surfaces
in Arizona,
where the Arizona License Plate Commission approved anti-choice groups’ request
to get a "Choose Life" plate.  YumaSun.com
reports: "Despite the unanimous vote, the move was not really voluntary: A
federal appeals court last year rejected the commission’s contention that the
message was improper for a state-issued license plate, ordering the panel to
honor the request. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to disturb that ruling."  Proceeds from the licenses, which costs $25,
will "will support basically providing alternatives to abortion and promoting
life,” said Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a member
of the Arizona Life Coalition. 

Christian Defense
Coalition Protest Will Greet Obama Inauguration

Christian Defense Coalition protesters and their 25 large
signs "showing the development of life from conception until birth" will follow
the inaugural parade route, reports
EarnedMedia. 

Some Asian Immigrants
Use Medical Technology to Ensure Sons

Sex-selective abortion happens in the United States, too, reports the San
Jose Mercury News. "A Columbia
University study suggests
that Chinese, Indian and Korean immigrants have been using medical technology,
most likely including abortion, to assure their later children were boys. And a
soon-to-be published analysis of birth records by a University
of Texas economist estimates there
were 2,000 "missing girls" between 1991 and 2004 among immigrant
families from China and India living in the U.S. – children never born because
their parents chose to have sons instead."  Instead of abortion, couples seeking to
parent sons may be using preimplantation genetic diagnosis, in which doctors "harvest
fertilized embryos, identify their sex after a few cellular divisions, and
implant the chosen gender." 

Wonkette on Teen
Birth Rate

Do yourself a favor and read Wonkette’s
take on the increase in the teen birth rate:

Oh BLAST YOU, Center for Disease Control! You issue these fancy figures
about rising teen birth rates, knowing full well that the only thing
Americans find more interesting than celebrities getting buried alive in
coffins of cow eyeballs is the thought of teenagers fucking each other. So
everybody gets excited at all the hot teen sexx happening, right now,
furtively, in walk-in closets and wood-paneled basements across the United States,
and then it turns out that these exciting statistics are from 2006.

That is not really the CDC’s fault, it’s the most recent data they have, but
STILL. It completely ruins our hypothesis that teenagers are getting knocked up
because sexytime is the cheapest form of fun a youngster can attain in our New
Depression.