The latest news, analysis and opinion on the state of low-income women and their families from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. For the week ending 4/8/2011: The demand for Planned Parenthood may be on the rise. Virginia becomes the latest state to ban abortion coverage for private plans that will take part in health insurance exchanges.
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Here’s this week’s news:
• The Los Angeles Times reports that demand for Planned Parenthood services in Los Angeles is up 10% to 15% despite the proposal to cut the agency’s federal funding.
• Last week, Virginia became the eighth state to pass a ban on abortion coverage for any private plan that would take part in the health insurance exchanges that will be created under recently passed health care reform legislation; low-income earners, who are usually not covered by an employer’s plan, will be among the first groups offered access to these new exchanges, according to the New York Times.
• Two Texas state senators are concerned that a decrease in family planning funding for the poor may have the unintended consequence of a rise in unwanted pregnancies, which the CEO of Health and Family Planning Association of Texas tells the Houston Chronicle is the number one factor for low-income women becoming welfare dependent.
• The Associated Press gives an overview of the ongoing debate in New York City over recently enacted legislation that requires abortion alternatives centers — which usually operate in low-income areas — to disclose the services they offer.
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The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity team
