Don’t fund birth control, abortion

Local governments and school districts scramble to balance their budgets during these tough economic times. The Herald reported Jan. 17 that the Marysville School District plans to cut 50 special para-professionals and non-teaching staff employees. Are these cuts necessary?

Consider this: Gov. Christine Gregoire overrode her own budget advisory panel and elected to fund “Take Charge,” an experimental Medicaid state program that provides a year’s supply of birth control for women on Medicaid. These funds go directly to support Planned Parenthood, and are not used to fund school programs, health care, and the needy.

Abortion in Washington, a local blog reporting and tracking the abortion industry, cites in 1998, “Planned Parenthood of Western Washington was pulling in about $5M each year in program revenue. Ten years later, in 2008, that figure had rocketed up to over $25M.” (http://abortionstate.blogspot.com). How many Marysville School District employee jobs would $5 million annually save?

Ed Mohs
Marysville