THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2017 STUDENT MEDIA
THE UNINTENDED
CONSEQUENCES OF DEFUNDING
FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES
C. Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION
The Brazos Valley Coalition for Life building on E29th St. in Bryan was previously home to a Planned Parenthood clinic from 1999-2013.
Texas A&M grad conducts economic study of Texas services budget cuts By Luke Henkhaus @luke_henkhaus
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s the debate over defunding Planned Parenthood plays out in multiple states and at the federal level, an academic study from a Texas A&M graduate is shedding light on some of the unintended consequences of defunding family planning services in Texas. Family Planning Funding Cuts and Teen Childbearing, the study which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Health Economics, focuses on $73 million in state budget cuts to family planning services in 2011 and traces their results over a period of several years. The study finds that these cuts had a measurable impact on teen birth rates and abortion rates in Texas, leading to more teen births and abortions than would have occurred
if family planning funding had not been cut. The study’s author, Analisa Packham, earned her Ph.D. in economics from A&M in 2016 and went on to become an assistant professor of economics at Miami University’s Farmer School of Business. Packham writes in the study that one of the goals of the initial budget cuts was to weaken the Planned Parenthood organization, which is commonly associated with abortion services. “Despite its major role in providing family planning services to thousands of Texas clients, a publicized motivation for the defunding of family planning services in Texas is the goal of eliminating Planned Parenthood,” Packham said. However, clinics that provide abortion services cannot legally receive government funding, and shifting funds between clinics within the same organization is illegal. Planned Parenthood operates separate family planning clinics that do not provide abortions and instead provide contraception services, STD screenings and other reproductive health ser-
vices. These clinics rely on public funding to provide these services, and were therefore hit hard by the 2011 cuts. “It’s not that surprising to me that if you propose legislation that doesn’t affect abortion clinics that you wouldn’t see reductions in abortion, just based on the fact that you’re limiting contraceptives,” Packham said. From an overall financial standpoint, Packham writes that the increased number of teen births resulting from this lack of access to family planning services may ultimately outweigh the $73 million budget cuts. “The estimates suggest that nearly 2,200 teens would have not given birth absent the reduction in Texas family planning funding,” Packham said. “Given that the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy estimates that the average cost of teen childbearing to taxpayers is nearly $27,000 per birth, the estimated costs of the reduction in family planning funding are $81 million, although this figure does not account for births to older women or births that occurred more
recently.” Jason Lindo, associate professor of economics at A&M and doctoral adviser to Packham during her doctoral study, said the study shows that cutting family planning funding has been counterproductive to the stated goals of many Texas lawmakers. “We’ve seen in the Texas case that defunding family planning clinics has really bad consequences in terms of women’s health, and it doesn’t seem to reduce abortions,” Lindo said. “If anything, it seems to actually increase abortion, so if the goal is to reduce abortion, this does not appear to be an effective policy. Moreover, it has negative consequences for women’s health in terms of their access to preventative care.” Lindo said he hopes Texas can serve as an example for the rest of the country when similar policies are being considered at the state and federal levels. “It’s really my hope that folks will take a close look at what’s happened in Texas when STUDY ON PG. 4
Impacting community youth Texas A&M students aims to mentor and Brazos Valley children By Mariah Colón @Mariahcolon18
Jenny Hollowell — THE BATTALION
Post-baccalaureate nursing student Madison Johnson plays Apples to Apples with Paris a girl benefiting from the Boys and Girls club in Brazos Valley.
Located just minutes away from Downtown Bryan, the Boys and Girls Club of Brazos Valley (BGCBV) has established a safe space for kids to learn leadership skills, develop learning methods and make lasting friendships in the process. Tiffany Parker, Chief Executive Officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Brazos Valley, has been working for the BGCBV for 15 years and said the purpose of the BGCBV is to build the children up in multiple ways. “The Boys and Girls Club is a youth development organization serving ages 6 to 18 and we’ve been in this community since 1959,” Parker said. “Our primary goal is keeping kids safe and building up strong citizens. All of our programs are divided into five core program areas, and those are character and leadership development, education and career development, health and life skills, the arts and sports and fitness and recreation.” Parker said the average day for a BGCBV kid varies depending on what the kids are interested in, but during the school year many
programs and activities are led by one of the 1,600 volunteers the club averages per year and focus on building scholastic habits. “During the school year when they hit the door they sign in and then they go to the learning center if they have homework,” Parker said. “If they don’t have homework then we have different high-yield learning activities set up throughout the building. So they’ll get with their grade level and do maybe basketball relays with flashcards so they’re still getting some learning in but it’s not too school-y. They’ve been in school all day so we don’t want to be a continuation of the school day, but we do want them to develop study habits and get used to doing something scholastic every day after school.” Bethany Bigham, kinesiology junior and a volunteer at BGCBV, started serving two years ago with her freshman leadership organization and said the most rewarding part is being able to see the happiness on the kids’ faces when they see her. “[The Boys and Girls club] gives the kids opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Bigham said. “When the kids do recognize you the happiness on their faces and the smiles they give you is really cool, it’s something that they look forward to and BGCBV ON PG. 4
Aggie family duo rescues Houstonians from flooding By Taylor Zeithlin @taylorhzeithlin In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Houston was left with rivers and lakes in what usually serves as roads, leaving rescue teams and Houstonians the only option of using their boats for transportation. Members of the Aggie family braved these hazardous water conditions to help those in need, including family members Tommy Edwards, Class of 1987, and ocean and Coastal resources freshman, Elizabeth Schneider, who took to the streets of Bellaire, Texas on their family boat to aid neighbors and fellow Texans. “We happened to have a boat, and the water in our driveway was high enough that we could use it to help out,” Edwards said. The family first took the boat out to help friends lift their cars from “neck-deep” water on main roads in Bellaire, Edwards said. As the water rose and the flooding worsened in Bellaire, Edwards and his family went from house to house, transporting people to safety — residents were trapped in their homes because of the severe flooding. “There were people on kayaks everywhere, just trying to get away,” Edwards said. Edwards rescued 20 people and 10 dogs from their homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Among Edwards’ passengers on his boat were officers from the Houston Police Department. “It was kind of funny that they were asking for our help. It reminded us that everyone is wrapped up in this,” Edwards said. One group of passengers of Edwards’ boat snapped a photograph of their family that ended up on Senator Ted Cruz’s Twitter account, who tweeted his support for the RESCUE ON PG. 2
PROVIDED BY Tommy Edwards
Tommy Edwards, Class of 1987, and ocean and Coastal resources freshman, Elizabeth Schneider, used a family boat to rescue neighbors and fellow Texans in Bellaire.