SAFA testifies before City Council to protect poor, impoverished teen girls

CoSA Council – Sept. 21, 2017 – – SAFA testified before the Council to protect poor, impoverished teen girls from chemical and mechanical sterilization that is terrible for their bodies and can still lead to chemical abortions. Many of these teen girls who qualify for Medicaid could be the very immigrants, even Dreamers, that the majority of the Council have stated they want to help stay in the USA after SB4 became law, supported the City’s lawsuit against the State of Texas, and after the expiration of DACA.

 

The Council voted 9-1-1 (absent) to use tax payer dollars from the Medicaid 1115 Waiver funds in an attempt to sterilize poor teen girls.

The previous Council voted in May/June to sue the State of Texas over Senate Bill 4 that was recently signed into law. It’s a strange contradiction. Protect immigrant girls but not their offspring. This is in-congruent with common sense. The funds from the Medicaid 1115 Waiver could be used for lots of different things to truly help 13-19 year old females who qualify for Medicaid, but the CoSA Council chose to use the taxpayer funds for harmful IUD devices and dangerous chemical like DepoProvera and Nexplanon, which can cause mechanical and chemical abortions.

These methods are not safe and they cause depression in the recipients. The SA Metropolitan Health District knows this, and some of the funds are to be used for ‘mental and emotional counseling’ in anticipation of the side effects.

Not only is this not natural is the green age of natural living it is not compassionate towards the teen girls. If these girls are sexually abused this barbaric methodology will enable the assailant to get away with a crime. Moreover, conception might take place, and if a baby is conceived the mechanical IUD or chemicals can cause an abortion.

This is disproportionate discrimination of minorities. The only courageous Councilman to vote against this bad program was Greg Brockhouse, who opposed it for an abuse of taxpayer dollars. Mayor Nirenberg, John Courage and all the other Councilmen (except Rey Saldana who was absent) voted for the ordinance. It is a terrible choice that is an abuse of taxpayer dollars and will cause harm to poor, vulnerable teen girls who deserve to be protected from known side effects like bacterial diseases, depression, weight gain, and breast cancer.

CoSA – Council Agenda – Item 51 – Medicaid 1115 Waiver Program – 9-21-17 2-University Health System Teen Pregancy Prevention 1115 Waiver 2017-2018 3-Communities In Schools 1115 Waiver Teen Health Program Agreement 2017-20 4-Council Presentation UHS_CISSA Agreements 2017-2018 (upload)Agenda MemoLegislation Details (With Text)