White House assault on birth control must be stopped

ON BEHALF of the more than 73,000 family planning clients throughout the Commonwealth served by nine agencies from the Cape to the Berkshires, we applaud the editorial, "A new attack on birth control" (July 30).

The Bush administration's attempt to change the definition of abortion to include many forms of birth control is its boldest attack yet to limit access and the delivery of crucial information and services.

The repercussions of this initiative will primarily be felt by low-income women and families seeking the healthcare they deserve. If implemented, our statewide network of more than 70, Title X-funded family planning sites may be unable to provide comprehensive information and common contraceptive methods.

We could either be forced to hire employees who will refuse to do their job or risk losing funding because of perceived discriminatory hiring practices.

We could be competing for scarce dollars with entities, such as pregnancy crisis centers, that refuse to provide women with full access. Some pharmacists will not fill certain prescriptions and insurance plans could drop existing equity coverage for contraceptives.

We must ensure that this proposal, which would devastate the nation's network of safety-net providers for low-income women and families, is immediately thwarted.

LIANNE COOK and
LYNDA SAMPSON
Beverly
The writers are cochairwomen of the Massachusetts Family Planning Association.