The Death of Family PACT?

Family PACT is a California family planning program that provides reproductive healthcare for the uninsured and under-insured of California. Because these women and men have access to birth control that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford, this program has reduced unwanted pregnancies by almost 300,000 - averting over 122,000 abortions - and has saved the state almost $6 billion (from conception to age five; the cost of healthcare and the raising of a child is about $20,000). That doesn't even include the savings and disease prevention/cure from STI testing and treatment...

On June 30, 2010, the waiver for Family PACT will need to be renewed. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicaid Service (CMS) needs to approve a waiver (a legal thing) for the federal government to fund this program.

The cost per year (in 2007 it was about $438 million) is offset by the federal government, who pays almost 2/3 to California. Every dollar that is spent on Family PACT saves almost $14.

Pay $438 million, save $6 billion. It's a great program and keeping it going is a no-brainer, right? Wrong. Governor Scharwzenegger's current budget proposal cuts funding to Family PACT reimbursements which means that some clinics will close because the medical staff won't be reimbursed for services. And if California can't get the federal funding, then the entire program will be scraped, which ultimately will cost the state that 6 billion... There's an old adage that goes "Cut off your nose to spite your face."

Bottom line for The Clinic!? It could close.

Are young women really apathetic about reproductive rights?

A Newsweek article iterated the belief held by many that young women today don't think that abortion rights need defending; and that with the elections of anti-choice politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, the reproductive rights people (denigratingly I think, called "the menopause militia") have waning influence in Washington.

Do you think that this is true? Do young women tend to not worry about access to BC and pregnancy testing or abortion or even STI testing, because those rights have always been there for them? Here in Nevada County, California, we have a group of college-age women and men who've formed a group called CHOICES and are activisits for reproductive justice. But then again, our donor base and our Board members are made up of mainly older people...

Is it sex or isn't it?

Do you have oral sex but just consider it "messing around?" Well, you're wrong, it is sex. And it's dangerous to think that it doesn't have consequences. Although the risk is less than with vaginal/penile/anal sex, there's quite a few STIs that you can get - herpes, syphilis, gonorrhea, human papillomavirus, intestinal parasites, hepatitis A, and HIV. Don't be lulled into thinking that it's less risky and that nothing can happen to you. Read this Guttmacher report.

Is your male partner forcing you to have unprotected sex?

A study last month by the Guttmacher Institute examined male reproductive control - when a man forces his female partner to have unprotected sex, through intimidation, threats, or physical violence.

The study found that women had encountered a range of controlling behaviors by their partners in an effort to get them pregnant, including violent rape and forced or unwanted intercourse (sometimes only unwanted because it was unprotected).

Has this happened to you or someone you know? If so, if you live in Nevada County, California, you can call DVSAC, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coaltion, 530.272.3467.