Home > Salud > Archives > Abortion category
Abortion
August 11, 2011
Central Health votes to stop funding abortions
Central Health board members voted unanimously today to stop spending public money on abortions for low-income women in Travis County after Sept. 12.
The move comes in response to a new state law that cuts off state funding to a hospital district that uses tax money to pay for abortions. The board included an exception in case of a medical emergency as defined by the new law.
After meeting behind closed doors, the board emerged and voted, also unanimously, to redirect the $450,000 that had been budgeted for abortions toward expanding other services.
“(O)ngoing opposition to Central Health’s funding of pregnancy terminations would likely divert resources that could address … challenges, including closing funding gaps for other women’s health services,” according to the board’s resolution on ending the abortion spending.
There was little discussion between board Chairman Tom Coopwood’s reading of the resolution and the vote.
Abortions have been provided to low-income women since 2005 by Central Health and before that by the City of Austin, according to the resolution.
The board today also plans to discuss Central Health’s preliminary tax rate, its 2012 budget and its plan for an HMO for Medicaid patients that recently was rejected by the state.
Update, 4:30 p.m.: Corrects that the board voted to allocate the $450,000 toward a general expansion of services, not women’s services.
Permalink | Comments (35) | Post your comment Categories: Abortion
September 21, 2010
UPDATED: Travis County Commissioners Court turns down abortion foes
UPDATED: Information below on number of abortions done each of last two years
Travis County residents, religious organizations and others took their fight against using public money for abortions to the Travis County Commissioners Court Tuesday, but the court did not relent.
The commissioners gave final approval to the $109.6 million Central Health budget, including $450,000 in contracts for abortion services for needy women. The vote was three in favor — Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe, Commissioners Sarah Eckhardt and Karen Huber — and Commissioner Ron Davis abstaining. Commissioner Margaret Gómez was absent.
The controversy brought dozens of people on both sides to public hearings on the budget held by Central Health, formerly the Travis County Healthcare District. But only opponents spoke to the commissioners Tuesday, urging them to either vote down the budget or withdraw the abortion funding.
Biscoe explained that the court did not have the authority to pull one item from the budget. “It’s an all or nothing proposition for us,” he said.
In fiscal year 2009, Central Health funded 582 abortions; so far this budget year, it has paid for 566, spokeswoman Christie Garbe said. The year ends Sept. 30.
With approval of the budget, “we are happy and proud we can provide the full range of health care services for uninsured residents of our county,” Garbe said.
Marie Seale, director of Pro-Life Activities and Chaste Living for the Diocese of Austin, said she was representing 225,000 Catholics in Austin and Bishop Joe Vasquez in asking for a halt to the funding. Travis County is the only political entity in Texas that uses taxpayer money for abortions, Seale said.
Travis County taxpayer Paul Kroschewsky said he disputed arguments from Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region that poor women would be forced to have unsafe, illegal abortions without the assistance. If that were true, he told commissioners, women in other cities would be dying and people would be hearing about it.
“You know deep down in your hearts it (abortion) is very, very wrong,” he said.
Biscoe asked what his position would be if Central Health paid for the abortions with money from the state’s lawsuit settlement with tobacco companies — not with taxpayer money. Kroschewsky said his position would be the same: he still would be opposed.
Travis County resident Morris Priest complained that the Central Health board did not allow him to comment when it approved the budget last week and did not allow everyone who wanted to speak to be heard at the last public hearing. “There are a number of issues that haven’t been fully debated,” he said.
Jeannine Floores, executive director of Breath of Life Maternity Ministries, said she also opposed funding for abortions but didn’t know why Texas has decreased the number of maternity homes for pregnant women considering alternatives to abortion when other states have increased the number of homes. Travis County lost two maternity homes in recent years and now has none.
After the meeting she raised the question with the Catholic Diocese, wondering why it did not help support a home in Travis County. Seale said funds are tight and Catholics in the diocese contribute to homes in Georgetown and Temple.
“The only way I can help someone is on my couch,” Floores told commissioners.
Permalink | Comments (49) | Categories: Abortion
August 31, 2010
UPDATED: Bishop urges health officials to stop funding abortions
UPDATED: Comments from diocese and bishop are below
Austin’s new Catholic bishop, Joe Vasquez, sent a letter to Central Health board members urging them to withdraw $450,000 in annual funding for abortions and telling board members they are “morally culpable” for the funding.
The board voted unanimously in December to renew a five-year contract to pay for abortions for needy women from three abortion providers after hearing from people on both sides of the debate. The issue is coming up again because the board is holding a hearing tomorrow on its budget and allocates the money for the contracts from its budget each year.
The bulk of Central Health’s budget comes from Travis County property tax revenues.
The public hearing is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Central Health headquarters, 1111 E. Cesar Chavez St.
“At the heart of our concern is this: Those who assist in the procurement of an abortion are morally culpable for their actions,” the bishop wrote in a letter to the board. “Voting to allocate these funds carries moral weight for the Board of Managers and at the same time has implications for all those who pay taxes. As Catholics and Christians we dutifully pay our taxes, but doing so should not violate our conscience.”
Dr. Tom Coopwood, chairman of the board of Central Health, formerly the Travis County Healthcare District, said he did not think anything had changed since the board approved the contracts in December. The board’s position hasn’t changed, and the views of opponents haven’t changed, he said.
The bishop is “entitled to his opinion, and he states the opinion of the pope,” Coopwood said. “We have to stand behind our moral position — that the women we serve deserve a full array of women’s health services.”
Christian Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Diocese of Austin, said representatives of the diocese, but probably not the bishop, would be at tomorrow’s public hearing.
I sent some questions to Gonzalez seeking a response from the bishop about other moral issues that also are odds with the Catholic Church’s teachings but spend taxpayer money. For example, given the church’s opposition to the death penalty, does Vasquez plan to make a similar pronouncement regarding the death penalty and state spending? What about spending on war? Only under very strict conditions does the Catholic Church assert that armed conflict is valid and never “from a spirit of vengeance,” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The bishop hasn’t responded yet, but I will post his comments when he does. The diocese is working with the Texas Alliance for Life on the abortion issue, and the alliance also will have representatives at the hearing to protest the use of property tax dollars for abortions, alliance Executive Director Joe Pojman said.
But Pojman said most opponents would appear at the second hearing, which will be in a larger room, Sept. 9. at the Travis County Commissioners Courtroom, 314 W. 11th St., at 6:30 p.m. That hearing also is televised on local access cable.
UPDATE:
Gonzalez, the spokesman for the diocese, provided the following comments Wednesday re: my questions about the death penalty and war, with a final quote from the bishop:
“Our church boldly proclaims a consistent ethic of the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death. Internationally, nationally, and locally, our church leaders speak out to defend the sacredness of life on the whole spectrum of issues, including the rights of the unborn, the dignity of the elderly, the rights of immigrants, unjust wars, the death penalty, and many others.
“The church and the bishops of the U.S. often speak out against capital punishment. Bishop Vásquez recently recorded a Spanish-language message for the Catholic Mobilizing Network (posted on their website), which is a concentrated campaign to end the death penalty.
“Before the war in Iraq, the Pope and high level Vatican officials directly warned the leaders of coalition governments about the ethical problems associated with that military action. The U.S. Bishops concluded that the war in Iraq did not meet the qualifications for just war. In their Statement on Iraq on Nov. 13, 2002, the bishops wrote, ‘Ultimately, our elected leaders are responsible for decisions about national security, but we hope that our moral concerns and questions will be considered seriously by our leaders and all citizens. We invite others, particularly Catholic lay people — who have the principal responsibility to transform the social order in light of the Gospel — to continue to discern how best to live out their vocation to be ‘witnesses and agents of peace and justice’ (Catechism, #2442). As Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5).’
‘The church is tax exempt; however, the 225,000 Catholic faithful in Travis County pay property taxes, sales tax and taxes on their wages. We are not advocating that Catholics should refuse to pay taxes. Jesus, in fact, taught us to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s (Matthew 22:21). When any citizen becomes aware that their taxes are being used for a reprehensible act, they have a moral responsibility to speak out against it. This outcry is not only our constitutional right, but it is also our duty as responsible citizens.’
“Abortion is intrinsically evil. Nothing good can ever come from abortion - nothing,” said Bishop Vásquez.
Permalink | Comments (45) | Categories: Abortion
December 8, 2009
Health district proposing contracts with 3 abortion providers
Staff of Central Health, formerly the Travis County Healthcare District, are recommending that the district’s board at its 5:30 p.m. meeting Thursday approve contracts with three abortion providers, rather than two, to provide an additional location for women seeking pregnancy termination, birth control and other family planning services.
The board, which raises money from property tax revenues, is expected to vote at the meeting on the contentious issue after hearing from the public about its plan to renew the contracts valued at $450,000. It has set aside the money in its budget to cover the contracts, although the recommendation for renewal in the agenda packet says annual use of those services has not reached that amount in the past.
The cost of an abortion through the health district and its provider organizations is $395, plus $20 for anesthesia, according to Christie Garbe, spokeswoman for the district. If the woman is Rh-negative, the additional charge is $50.
District staff is proposing that the board continue contracts with Austin Women’s Health Center (also known as Brookside Women’s Medical Center) and Whole Woman’s Health of Austin and add Planned Parenthood as a third option.
Those wishing to testify can start signing up at 5 p.m. outside the meeting room. It’s being held at the Granger Building, 314 W. 11th St., in Travis County Commissioners Courtroom, first floor. Sign-ups will cease after a staff presentation and once the public hearing starts.
When the board aired the subject in October, opponents packed the meeting room objecting to abortion and the use of property taxes to pay for them. They will be back Thursday as will supporters of continuing the program, including NARAL Pro-Choice Texas.
Laurie Felker Jones, a NARAL board member, said, “Unfortunately, women who lose this health service … will be on their own to figure out how they can keep themselves and their families safe. Some women unfortunately take matters into their own hands.”
Dr. Tom Coopwood, chairman of the board, said he wanted to hear the testimony from the crowd before deciding how to vote.
Permalink | Comments (36) | Categories: Abortion
December 4, 2009
Health district board airing abortion contracts next week
The Travis County Healthcare District board will hear from the public Thursday on renewing contracts with two organizations that perform abortions — an issue that packed an October meeting with opponents, many from the Texas Alliance for Life.
Some supporters of the contracts also showed up, including representatives of Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region, who urged the district to continue the $450,000 contracts it inherited from the City of Austin when voters created the district in 2004.
The money is in the board’s budget, but several board members said in October they were unsure whether they’ll vote to approve the contracts.
On Thursday, board members are scheduled to hear a presentation from staff on the contracts, take public comments and then vote.
“The public hearing may be time-limited at the discretion of the chairperson to ensure that the board has adequate time to deliberate,” district spokeswoman Christie Garbe wrote in an e-mail. “Thus, it is possible that not everyone who signs in will have the opportunity to speak.”
If you want to comment, sign up sheets will be available starting at 5 p.m. the day of the meeting just outside the meeting room — the Travis County Commissioners Courtroom at the Granger Building (kitty corner from the Travis County Courthouse), 314 W. 11th Street. The sign-ups will stop when the public hearing opens, Garbe said.
The meeting starts at 5:30 and details will be posted later today on the district’s Web site.
The contracts are with Whole Woman’s Health of Austin and Austin Women’s Health Center (also known as Brookside Women’s Medical Center). They pay for abortions of women in the district’s Medical Assistance Program, which is for uninsured people who fall below 100 percent of the federal poverty line.
At the October meeting, the crowd was angry when the board went into closed session to discuss the contracts with its lawyer. At the time, board Chairman Dr. Tom Coopwood promised an open airing at a future date on the topic and a chance for the board to hear from more residents.
You can read more about that meeting in the Statesman story we published here.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Categories: Abortion
