Texas Prevention First Act; Unplanned Pregnancies and the Spread of STD's

by: Sam Jones

Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 11:29 AM CST

Here is a clip from the media advisory sent to BOR.

As a state, Texas ranks high on a number of public health indicators:

• In 2003, one out of every two births in Texas was paid for with public dollars.
  
• The Texas Department of State Health Services estimates that the first year of a Medicaid-funded pregnancy costs nearly $8,500.
  
• In contrast, the cost for a year of family planning care for a woman - including a pap smear and a year of contraception - is only $170.
  
• The federal government provides $9 in matching funds for every $1 Texas spends on the Women's Health Program.
  
• Texas has the highest rate in the country of teens giving birth. 

  The Texas Prevention First Act - filed as SB 837 and its companion HB 1842 - reduces unintended pregnancies and curbs the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by focusing on prevention measures.  SB 837 and HB 1842:

• seek to promote Texas' family planning program which provides preventive health care to low-income women and their families;
  
• ensure accurate and effective information in the sex education curriculum of schools; and,
  
• Keep parents informed of the content of their child's sex education and provide information on how to get involved in their local schools.