Larson blasts cut

Larson blasts cut-off of state funding for Planned Parenthood

Dec. 22, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and approximately 13,000 low-income women in rural areas are getting a lump of coal for Christmas, courtesy of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Gov. Bill Owens.

That’s the opinion of supporters of the reproductive-health-care provider, including state Rep. Mark Larson (R-Cortez).

Larson recently wrote a letter to Owens expressing his disappointment with a decision to cut off state funding to the agency.

"During the past 20 years, this crucial partnership has worked together to provide millions of women and families with vital reproductive health care and is directly responsible for lowering the rates of unintended pregnancies and therefore abortion in our state," Larson wrote.

Last week, Planned Parenthood was informed that the state health department is terminating its long-standing partnership with the agency, canceling $382,000 in funding because of an audit this fall that found that the organization was subsidizing abortion services.

The health department ordered an independent audit by the Greeley firm Anderson & Whitney to see if Planned Parenthood was abiding by state law separating its privately funded abortion services from its cancer screening and family services.

The state Constitution forbids using state money for abortions, although Planned Parenthood contends that, "No government funding is being used directly or indirectly by Planned Parenthood to pay for abortions."

The audit found that the organization’s family-planning arm was charging below-market rent to its branch providing abortions.

Planned Parenthood had separated the two services after a ruling that clarified that state funds could not go to subsidize abortions. Health Department Director Jane Norton concluded that the below-market rent amounted to a subsidy and violated the law.

But Planned Parenthood maintains that it hasn’t spent a penny of taxpayer money, either directly or indirectly, on abortions and that it charges the same rent to other entities.

For Cortez, the seventh most-impacted clinic in the state, the funding cut will hit hard, with 906 women having to pick up the slack through an increased co-payment for cancer screenings, birth control, and testing for sexually transmitted diseases, according to a press release from Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood Senior Vice President Bobbie Watson said the funding cut is politically motivated.

"We believe that we were politically targeted and that because the present administration is not pro-choice — they’re mixing apples and oranges here. They just disallowed us from having this money."

Despite the financial blow, no clinics will close across the state, but the co-pay will go into effect the first of the year.

Planned Parenthood had initially considered filing a lawsuit to fight the funding cut, but the idea has since been withdrawn in the interest of the patients, Watson said.

"We have decided not to sue, at least in the short term. We are in the business of providing health care to women, not spending money on lawsuits," Watson stated.

"We continue to be committed to providing those services as well as putting money into the Cortez community in the form of subsidized services," she said. "We will continue to support the Cortez community and the women down there, but we can’t bear that whole burden for all of our clinics across the state."

Larson said the decision to cut funding would hurt women in the local area.

"My concern lies first and foremost with the 906 women in Cortez who rely upon the local Planned Parenthood health center for crucial family-planning services. I have yet to see a concrete contingency plan for these women who will lose critical care in two weeks and the forecast is looking grim.

"In Montezuma County there are no alternative providers for these women to turn to and according to the county health department, they do not feel equipped to handle this pending heath-care crisis in Cortez," Larson said.

Larson added that he was angered by suggestions that Cortez patients drive to Durango for services.

"Durango is 45 miles away and many women do not have access to transportation, nor do they have expendable money to pay for gas. What seems like insignificant issues for you and I are enormous barriers for many low-income rural women."

For more information on the financial cut, call 303-321-7526.