Pennsylvania Commission for Women Rallies Against Senate Budge...( Leaders Denounce ...),Health

Leaders Denounce Plan as Harmful to Women and Children

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Commission for Women today hosted a rally at the state Capitol to oppose devastating budget cuts proposed by the Senate that would endanger critical services for women and their families and end the agency's 35 years of advocacy for women and girls.

"As recently as 2002, the Institute for Women's Policy Research ranked Pennsylvania as one of the 10 worst states for women, and this year's proposed budget cuts aimed at women and children -- paired with the complete elimination of the commission -- are a chilling reminder of how vulnerable the women of Pennsylvania are," said commission Executive Director Leslie Stiles. "While some legislators do support the commission and the programs we provide for more than six million Pennsylvania women, we fear there is not enough support to prevent erasing decades of progress in regards to the equal treatment and support of women."

The Senate budget proposal would reduce or eliminate funding for the following services:

• Child care services
• Child care assistance
• Breast and cervical cancer screening
• Public library subsidy -- 44 percent cut from the Governor's budget proposal
• Accessible housing -- 50 percent cut
• Teen pregnancy and parenthood education -- 100 percent cut
• Pennsylvania Commission for Women -- 100 percent cut
• Governor's Office of Health Care Reform -- 100 percent cut
  

The Governor's Office of Health Care Reform, the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Organization for Women (Pennsylvania NOW, Inc.), Maternity Care Coalition, Women's Law Project, PathWays PA, and MidPenn Legal Services joined the rally. Leaders urged citizens
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