Springfield Rep. Sara Lampe has pre-filed a resolution that will force Missouri lawmakers to put themselves "on the record in support of family planning services and education."The resolution is intended to measure support among legislators for contraceptive access and pregnancy education.
"To reduce unintended pregnancy and abortion, you should be for family planning and education," said Rep. Lampe in a release.
Senator Joan Bray is co-sponsoring the legislation with Lampe. "Putting prevention first is the common-sense solution to the problem of unintended pregnancy," Bray said. "Our resolution will make it clear that the Missouri legislature recognizes that educating and supporting women so they do not become pregnant in the first place is one of our most important investments."
The release also cites a study by the Guttmacher Institute, which revealed a poor woman is four times as likely to experience an unplanned pregnancy as a higher-income woman. Lampe said in 2003, the Missouri legislature cut women's health care, causing 37 Missouri clinics to close or cut hours and leaving more than 30,000 women without cancer screenings, annual exams and birth control.
Lampe and Bray said funding for these programs will again be dealt with in the 2007 session.
"As we look at the best, most cost-effective ways to improve healthcare for low-income Missourians, I want the legislature to send a clear message to the Blunt administration: Put prevention first," Bray said.
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