Photos Peter Carr of the Minnesota Health Department. Lorraine Teel, with the Minnesota AIDs Project. Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum says he won't predict any changes to state family planning grants. Respond to this story Talk about this story in the MPR News Forum Submit a commentary Help us cover this story

Family planning groups worry about funding cut and policy changes
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
November 29, 2002

Peter Carr, with the Minnesota Health Department, says HIV related cases and several sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in Minnesota. (MPR Photo/Tom Scheck)

Activists say HIV related cases and other sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in Minnesota. Family Planning Organizations say those rates will continue to rise if restrictions are placed on state and federal family planning money.

St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Health Department says HIV related cases in Minnesota increased three percent in 2001 compared to the previous year. Epidemiologist Peter Carr says the state's cases in chlamydia and syphilis have also gone up. He says the health department is most concerned about the increase in syphilis cases among men. The department began making this year's syphilis rates public because of the sudden spike.

"So far through October 31st of 2002 we have seen 45 cases of Syphilis of men who have sex with men compared with approximately two at the same point last year."

Carr says the increase in syphilis has prompted the health department to issue health advisories to HMOs, doctors and family planning groups to increase screening. He says he can't explain the increases in Syphilis, HIV and other STDs.

Family planning groups, however, say rates are increasing because the public is losing the safe sex message that was taught a decade ago. The groups worry the state's $3 billion projected budget deficit could mean cuts to family planning grants. Lorraine Teel, the executive director of the Minnesota AIDS Project, says cuts to funding and any possible restrictions on how groups use that money could lead to even bigger increases. Teel says her organization received $200,000 in the last budget cycle for prevention services.

	Lorraine Teel, with the Minnesota AIDs Project.

"Funding cuts are a concern to us in the non-profit arena but quite frankly more of a concern are policy changes that would prevent us from providing us the information needed to prevent HIV infection in the first place," Teel said.

Teel says proposals in previous legislative sessions would have limited or restricted state money to any family planning agency that provides abortions or refers women to abortion providers. She says that could affect women in rural Minnesota who rely on Planned Parenthood for their family planning. Planned Parenthood is one of the state's largest abortion providers. Teel also says she's concerned that the Legislature may consider a bill that would encourage abstinence-only education over comprehensive sexual health education.

"I would rather not spend that money that has so many strings attached to it if we're not effective in what we're doing," Teel said.

House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, says it's too early to speculate whether the Legislature will cut or place restrictions on family planning money. He says lawmakers will have plenty of other major issues to deal with. However, he predicts some changes this year.

	Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum says he won't predict any changes to state family planning grants.

"If you look at what the governor-elect was saying in the campaign and as he's voted in the past and what the house has done and now the closeness in the Senate, I would guess that you will see some of the moderate changes in abortion law," Sviggum said. "The women's right-to-know bill, for example, would be more successful this year than in previous years."

Sviggum says it's likely lawmakers will pass a bill that places a 24 hour waiting period on any woman who chooses to have an abortion. Sviggum says he doesn't believe lawmakers will move forward with what he called, "extreme positions."

"We're not going to come forward with a whole list, a whole enlarged list of issues in this social area and just push them forward all at once," Sviggum said. "I don't think that's a good, wise strategy. I don't think it's the right thing to do. I don't think it's the balance that Minnesotans expect."

Sviggum says lawmakers will have a much better idea of how to handle family planning money and other budget issues when the new state budget forecast is released in December.

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