School-Based Health Centers Receive Federal Funding (US)
May 26, 2010
Under the federal health reform law (PL 111-148), school health centers for the first time will be eligible for federal funding, prompting opposition from antiabortion-rights groups that are targeting the centers’ potential involvement in family planning services, CQ Today reports.
The health care reform law allocates $50 million per year for the centers for the next four years. As a result, advocates on all sides "are fighting for a toehold before the appropriations subcommittees," according to CQ Today.
The law prohibits the centers from providing abortion services and requires that they abide by state and local laws, including parental notification and consent laws. The health reform law does not prohibit the centers from providing abortion referrals, nor does it impose new restrictions on conversations between students and health providers.
The conservative groups the Family Research Council and the Heritage Foundation are lobbying against funding for the centers. In April, FRC’s political action committee ran ads in retiring Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) district saying that the lawmaker supported a law that "funds school-based clinics with no restrictions on abortion referrals for young girls." FRC’s PAC also plans to target other lawmakers who voted for the health reform law but traditionally oppose abortion rights.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who secured the funding included in the House bill, said the groups’ abortion claims are a "red herring" because students must receive parental consent to be treated at the centers. Capps, who is a former school nurse, added, "From practice, we know from health offices I’m very familiar with in the school setting, young people come and seek advice for such a wide range of problems in their life."
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According to CQ Today, there are about 2,000 school-based health centers in 44 states, serving 1.7 million students. Although the number is relatively small in context of the nation's 99,000 public schools, supporters say the centers provide crucial services in certain districts (Norman, CQ Today, 5/21).