Trouble brewing for the Anchorage Department of Health

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[Bleedingheartliberal]

I have reason to be concerned that the current Anchorage administration (a.k.a. Mayor Sullivan) may not allow the Anchorage Department of Health and Human Services to apply for upcoming federal planned parenthood funding. The DHHS has received federal funds for this important public health function since 1970 and the most recent grant was in excess of $600,000. The Anchorage DHHS has proposed applying for just under 1 million dollars for the next 2-year grant cycle. These monies fund key personnel and other important public health activities will be lost as well as STD prevention and family planning. The city seriously underfunds this important municipal agency, and blocking DHHS' efforts to apply for federal funds may destroy it all together. If that happens, Anchorage will have to look to the State for many basic public health functions.

I first heard of this through a neighbor who used to work in city government, and is in a position to know. I verified this today through a state public health employee who works directly with family planning at the state level. Apparently this isn't a "done deal" but is being seriously considered by the mayor's office. Women's reproductive rights, especially those of poor women, will take a serious hit.

[daMamma]

Key words here would be "Planned Parenthood".  This is not good news and I hope they get full funding after all.

The push to underfund and stop funding them has been getting greater and greater over the last decade or so.  People have a problem with this organization including abortion as an option.  They don't push the issue or encourage it, they just inform women of all their options available to them.

Another thing they do is offer information about contraceptives.  Oh my gosh not that too!

Side by side with these, there is also prenatal care and adoption and a whole host of other programs designed to help women make better choices for their lives, here, right now and in the future.

Honestly if they only offered services that involved only ever counseling on abstinence and adoption they'd be heralded as the greatest thing going.

[Bleedingheartliberal]

These funds aren't going to the organization called Planned Parenthood of Alaska. Planned Parenthood does indeed get federal family planning funding, but it is a non-governmental organization and not a public health agency. Some of the services provided by the Anchorage Dept. of Health and Human Services (Anchorage Health Department) are the same as Planned Parenthood, but most are more basic public health functions. Still, I think you are on target that the perception is that this is all about reproductive services. 

[M. Paul]

BHL

How is it the mayors office can keep the funding from the Anchorage Health Department?   Are there administrative people within the AHD  who are keeping this from happening?

M. Paul

[daMamma]

Still, I think you are on target that the perception is that this is all about reproductive services. 

That has become a serious problem throughout the country.  I do not understand this whole backward push when I comes to women, women's reproductive issues.  It has been getting stronger over the past decade or so, and now is at the point where things could really turn around and head right back to the dark ages.