TRENTON — On the second day Gov. Chris Christie ordered the Legislature to Trenton to take action on his property reform tax plan, female Democratic legislators used the occasion to demand he restore a $7.5 million grant supporting family planning clinics. The women urged Christie today to sign a bill to restore the grant shared by 58 family planning...
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Marie Tasy, of NJ Right To Life during a June 2010 hearing.TRENTON — On the second day Gov. Chris Christie ordered the Legislature to Trenton to take action on his property reform tax plan, female Democratic legislators used the occasion to demand he restore a $7.5 million grant supporting family planning clinics.
The women urged Christie today to sign a bill to restore the grant shared by 58 family planning clinics in the state. The clinics provided 136,000 uninsured people with health screenings and birth control last year.
The bill also requires the state to submit an application to obtain $9 in federal funds for every $1 New Jersey spends on family planning services for women earning between $29,547 and $44,100 a year, slightly higher than Medicaid typically allows.
Christie said he needed to make many cuts to close a budget deficit, and he chose this one because he believes uninsured women can find similar services at other clinics.
Marie Tasy of New Jersey Right to Life has applauded the governor’s decision.
"It is important to note that Planned Parenthood has a political action committee, which financially supports and endorses the re-election of many of the legislators who have been the most vocal in protesting these funding cuts,’’ Tasy said.
At the Statehouse press conference today, Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex) criticized opponents for "turning this into what it shouldn’t be about — philosophy. It’s about women’s health.’’
Montclair University Political Science Professor Brigid Harrison said Christie likely is "digging his heels in’’ on this issue because he is anti-abortion and a fiscal conservative. "Politically, I think he will trade the wrath of women legislators for the national recognition as a conservative champion,’’ Harrison said.
None of the grant money would be used for abortion.
Assemblywoman Linda Stender, (D-Union), said the bill makes sense from a fiscal perspective.
"For every dollar not spent on family planning services, the state will spend $4 on Medicaid,’’ she said.
Without the state grant, the Women’s Health and Counseling Center in Somerville would have to consider layoffs, said Frances Palm, the center’s executive director. The clinic served 2,700 people last year.
"There’s nothing else around us," Palm said. "The only other option is the hospital."
