Does it Make Sense to Cut Funding for Abortion AND Contraception in Texas?

It just does not seem logical, and yet that seems to be what Gov. Rick Perry is doing. As of this month, women's health centers in Texas have lost approximately $74 million in state funding. That money, and more, has been allocated to crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). These places aim to council pregnant women and convince women with unwanted pregnancies to favor adoption over abortion. Fair enough. The Republicans are pro-life. No surprise there. What they seem to have over-looked though, what seems glaringly obvious to us, is that those same women's health centers concentrate more on contraception than abortion. Abortion is the last resort and it is a part of the service, but contraception is the focus. Cut funding to the family planning programs, and surely, inevitably there will be more unwanted pregnancies. To suggest that all of those babies will simply be handed over for adoption is startlingly naïve. The Republican and Tea Party stance seems to be to cut all funding to anywhere that is pro-choice and, if funding for contraception gets knocked along the way, so be it. That is simply insane. According to an article in the American Independent, “Ever since, CPCs began receiving taxpayer money through the Alternatives to Abortion (AA) program in a 2005 budget rider, that pot of money has grown from $2.5 million to $8.3 million, a 232 percent increase over six years. In that time period, family-planning funds were slashed by 66 percent. To compare, the state's subsidized family-planning program has served approximately 220,000 women annually in comparison to roughly 18,000 women serviced by the subsidized anti-abortion counseling program, according to data provided by the respective agencies that oversee these programs.” If those figures seem ridiculous, it is because they are. It is a pattern that has been consistent. Whenever funding is cut to family planning, money to this anti-abortion program increases. It is time for Perry, the Republicans, the Tea Party and Texas to wake up. The pro-life vs. pro-choice is always going to polarize people, and there is no simple answer, no matter what anybody tells you. But to cut funding for contraception is, well, stupid.