GOP blamed

State to continue funding birth control for kids

By JAY McNALLY
CREDO

LANSING - The Republican leadership of the Michigan Senate is being blamed for the continued funding of birth control for minors in the State of Michigan without parental consent.

On June 18 the top GOP leaders in the Senate deleted wording from the Community Health budget that would have forbidden the MiChild program from giving or promoting "any contraceptives to minors without parental consent." The MIChild program is funded two-thirds with federal money and one-third with state funds. It is designed for children who do not have insurance through a parental insurance program.

"This is an outrageous violation of parental rights," said Michael O'Dea, executive director of the Christus Medicus Foundation, which is based in Southfield, Mich.

O'Dea's foundation monitors U.S. health care legislation. He has been an advisor to several dioceses in the U.S. and was a featured speaker at a Vatican conference on health care several years ago.

O'Dea said he was encouraged when the Michigan House last month by an overwhelming margin approved an amendment (H1) deleting the MiChild contraceptive funding. The vote, he said at the time, put Michigan on the brink of setting a national precedent for making the federal health plan more family-friendly.

O'Dea said he now is blaming House Speaker Rick Johnson (R-LeRoy), Senate Majority Leader Dan DeGrow (R-Port Huron), Sen. Joel Gougeon (R-Bay City), and Chairman of the Community Health Department Micky Mortimer (R-Horton) for scuttling the House amendment.

"I spoke with aides to Sens. DeGrow and Rick Johnson and they gave me the impression that they would support this amendment," said O'Dea.

"The committee had to delete (H1) because, to get federal funds for MIChild, the federal government requires coverage for contraceptives without parental consent." O'Dea said he was told by Bret Henderson, legislative aid to Sen. Gouegeon.

"The decision by the conference committee not to have that language in was certainly very disappointing, " said Paul Long, vice president for public policy of the Michigan Catholic Conference. Based in Lansing, the MCC is the public policy voice for the Catholic Church in Michigan. "We advised members of the Legislature that we were supportive of the amendment."

O'Dea and Long both said the federal government does not require states to fund contraceptive services.

Congressman Joe Knollenberg, (R-Farmington Hills), agreed with Long and O'Dea. "It is important to note that there is no federal government requirement for the state of Michigan to provide coverage's of these benefits," he said.

"Various members gave various reasons for their vote but it appears to me that there was pressure from the Dept. of Community Health. They didn't want the amendment," Long said.

O'Dea said he intends to continue to fight for deletion of the contraceptive funding.

"Those of us who are defending the rights of parents are in for the long haul," O'Dea said. "We need to take a more pro-active approach and get broader involvement."

O'Dea said the Legislature can be prodded into action when the public learns the details of obscure legislation, such as that regulating MIChild.

Back in 1998 we got funding for abortion and sterilization taken out of MiChild, thanks to an article in Credo that alerted legislators to the reality of the program. Many legislators didn't understand what the state was doing."

As of press time, State Rep. Scott Hummel (R-DeWitt) was said to be prepared to sponsor legislation to cut secret contraceptive funding for minors. He was unavailable for comment.

For more information about the Christus Medicus Foundation, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, contact: mikeodea@christusmedicus.com.

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