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DeLauro Touts Inclusion of ‘Reducing the Need for Abortions Initiative’ in Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill

July 24, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT - 3) praised the inclusion of the "Reducing the Need for Abortions Initiative" in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010. The $7.8 abortion reduction package is focused on preventing unintended pregnancies, reducing the need for abortion in our country, while also providing economic supports for women who choose to carry a child to term.

The bill includes many of the provisions in the Ryan-DeLauro legislation – the Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortions and Supporting Parents Act (H.R. 3312—which was reintroduced on Thursday [23 July 2009] with strong support from a diverse coalitiont. As a member of the Subcommittee, the DeLauro worked closely with Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey in drafting the Subcommittee's abortion reduction initiative.

"By funding this initiative, we are offering policy solutions that promote life and support parents beyond the birth of their new child. We are affirming the need to prevent unintended pregnancies and to help women with the economic pressures that may lead them to choosing an abortion," said DeLauro. "Of all the important goals this initiative can help us reach, perhaps the most important is that it helps move us forward on this issue – beyond the question of the legality of abortion and toward actually reducing the need for abortion and providing critical investments for families."

With $7.8 billion in funding – $61 million above the President's request and $135 million above 2009 – the initiative will have the resources to make an impact on reducing the need for abortions. Specifically, the initiative includes funding for the following programs:

Department of Labor

• Young Parents Training Pilot Program: $5.5 million

• Transitional Jobs: $35 million Department of Health and Human Services:

• Health Resources and Services Administration

o Community Health Centers: $2.19 billion

o Healthy Start: $105 million

o Family Planning (Title X): $317.5 million

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

o Teen Pregnancy Prevention: $15.8 million

• Administration for Children and Families

o Child Care Development Block Grant: $2.127 billion

o Runaway and Homeless Youth: $98 million

o Prevention Grants to Reduce Abuse of Runaway Youth: $18.7 million

o Home Visitation Program: $15 million

o Infant Adoption Awareness: $12.95 million

o Community Services Block Grant: $700 million

o Family Violence Prevention Program: $133 million

o Teen Pregnancy Prevention/Abstinence Education: $114 million

• Office of the Secretary:

o Adolescent Family Life (Title XX): $29.7 million Department of Education

• 21st Century After School Centers: $1.18 billion

• Elementary and Secondary School Counselors: $55 million

To view the full report language on the Abortion Reduction Initiative, please click here and go to page 16.