Christie's Budget Cuts Spur Abortion Fight
New Jersey’s legislature is currently debating a bill to restore $7.5 million in funding to family planning centers across the state.
New Jersey’s legislature is currently debating a bill which would re-appropriate $7.5 million to family planning centers across the state. Proponents of the bill fear that it will be vetoed by Republican Governor Chris Christie who, when asked if the funds for family planning would be restored, firmly responded, “No.”
Though Christie’s gubernatorial ascension was somewhat shocking – running on the Republican ticket and winning the statewide election after Democrats had dominated the governorship for 12 years – his steadfast opposition to state funding for family planning should come as no surprise. Christie consistently maintained a pro-life stance.
He has also pledged to decrease the state’s $11 billion deficit. On June 23, 2010, Christie proposed the $7.5 million cut to family planning centers, which is now being challenged by the state legislature.
Apart from Christie’s personal opinions and political objectives, New Jersey’s family planning history and statistics have left many on both sides of the political spectrum calling for more limits on state aid for family planning.
According to the most current data provided by the Guttmacher Institute, New Jersey was in the top ten for teen birthrates and came in second place -- just behind New York -- for the country’s highest abortion rate.
However, the family planning centers which will see their funds cut are not used solely for abortions.
FrumForum spoke to five New Jersey high school students, four of whom agreed that the family planning center in the town was widely used by teens and immensely beneficial.
“I can’t give you exact numbers, but it is safe to say that almost every girl I know at school has benefited from [the family planning center],” said one rising junior. “Obviously, hearing about abortions is less common… most of the people I know go to either get tested or to buy cheap birth control pills.”
The lone dissenter, a 14-year-old rising sophomore, claimed that while she understood the benefits of having such an easily accessible family planning center, “I definitely feel like people take more risks – they just say, ‘it’s ok, I’ll go to [the center].”
While many supporters believe that the funding cut will have a disastrous impact on the widely used family planning centers, Christie’s supporters maintain that these centers are not fulfilling their mission of promoting healthier, more responsible behavior.
Despite New Jersey’s traditional left-leaning politics, Christie is still marginally popular among constituents, with a 44% approval rating and a 43% disapproval rating. Though many of Christie’s backers are more supportive of his drive to reduce taxes and spending as opposed to his stance on abortion, polls indicate that center-right voters identifying as “pro-life” have increased 10% over the past year, from 60% to 70%.
For the many pro-choice advocates who are convinced that they’ve swung the pendulum in their favor once and for all, the debate raging in the New Jersey State Legislature indicates that the United States still has a long way to go before the contentious issue is resolved.