Michigan
Republican Leadership Abandons Children and Undermines Parents,
Says Christus Medicus Foundation
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Christus
Medicus Foundation is overwhelmingly disappointed that the June
18, 2002 Conference Committee for the Community Health Department
consisting of House Speaker Rick Johnson, Senate Majority Leader
Dan DeGrow, Assistant Majority Chair for Conference Committee Senator
Joel Gougeon, and Chair for Community Health Department, Micky Mortimer
ditched House Amendment (H1) to Senate Bill 1101," explained Michael
J. O'Dea, Executive Director. Once again, Republican leadership
in the House and Senate missed an opportunity to remove the funding
of non health-care services in order to protect:
* children's physical and psychological
health,
* the rights of parents to know what services
their children are receiving, and
* the rights of taxpayers not to fund unhealthy
and morally objectionable chemicals
and devices that undermine the family.
On May 22, 2002, House Amendment
(H1) to Senate Bill 1101, introduced by Michigan Reps. Scott Hummel
and Gary Newel, passed 73 to 22 on the floor of the House. This
amendment would prohibit state and federal tax money for contraceptives,
currently available through the State Children's Health Plan (S-CHIP)
2002 budget, known as MIChild, from going to Planned Parenthood,
abortion clinics and other organizations that undermine parental
authority by providing and promoting contraception to minors without
parental consent.
"I believe most parents and taxpayers
think it is un-American and an infringement on parents rights as
the primary care giver and educator of their children to force Michigan
citizens to pay for funding the undermining of parental authority,"
O'Dea further explained. "Our Michigan Republican leaders let us
down and acted contrary to everything President Bush is doing to
protect parents."
When questioned on why this amendment
did not appear for a vote at the public conference Committee held
on the morning of June 18, the following response was given:
"The committee had to delete (H1)
because to get federal funds for MIChild, the federal government
requires coverage for contraceptives without parental consent,"
said Bret Henderson, legislative aid to Senator Gougeon.
"It is important to note that there
is no federal government requirement for the state of Michigan to
provide coverages of these benefits," said Congressman Joe Knollenberg's
letter dated, Oct 8, 1998 to O'Dea responding to whether federal
government required Michigan to fund contraception in MIChild.
In the June 18, 2002 afternoon Senate
session on the Michigan Department of Community Health budget, Senator
Dale Shugars gave the following protest statement against the adoption
of the first conference report on Senate Bill No. 1101: "I rise
to vote 'no' on this bill because of the fact that the conference
committee took out section 1678 that says, 'MICHILD funds shall
not be used to provide or promote any contraceptives to minors without
parental consent.' I believe that undermines the families in Michigan.
I know that there is an argument that the federal government will
sanction if we were to pass that, but the House of Representatives
passed it with 72 Representatives supporting that language. I thought
we should be supporting that. We support our parent's rights, and
I think this just undermines it. I have been told also that the
policy for the state employees for health care has the same verbiage
that minors of employees who work for the state of Michigan that
the parents don't have to be notified for their children to get
contraceptives. I think that undermines the family values that are
so important to all of us, and so that's why I voted 'no.'"
The Christus Medicus Foundation (CMF)
is a not-for profit organization that acts as a watchdog for the
rights of children, parents and health care payers. Its mission
is to educate policymakers, health care professional, religious
leaders and the American public on the need for a "conscientious
choice" in what Americans pay for in public and private health plans.
CMF sponsors conferences, newsletters, a web site and protects and
supports children, parents and organizations that are being undermined
by private and public health plans. CMF's web site is www.christusmedicus.com
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