Florida Lawmakers Split Over Cutting $2M 'Crisis Counseling' Program That Discourages Abortion

A $2 million Florida "crisis counseling" program that aims to discourage women with unintended pregnancies from seeking abortion has become a contentious item in the state budget debate for the third time in the past two years, Health News Florida reports. The state's House version of the state budget maintains money for the program, but the Senate version eliminates the funding, which goes to the centers and billboard advertisements for a 24-hour, statewide hotline that provides information on alternatives to abortion. According to Health News Florida, Democratic legislators criticize the program as "political pork" and question why it should be spared from funding cuts even as lawmakers cut millions from health care programs in the last two years.

The program, which was put in place under former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), survived two attempted cuts this year, Health News Florida reports. In a special session in January, state lawmakers voted to reduce the program's funding by $574,528, but Gov. Charlie Crist (R) vetoed the measure. A House spending panel later targeted the program for a possible 10% to 15% cut, but state Rep. Juan Zapata (R) -- chair of the House budget panel that oversees Department of Health spending -- said on Tuesday that House Republican leaders ordered him to maintain the funding. Zapata said he understood the "logic" because Crist vetoed the original budget cut. However, state Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D) said the program "may be a valuable thing to have in a community, but it's not public health." She added that the program "is not something that government should be paying for" (Fineout, Health News Florida, 4/8).


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