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CONCORD - On Tuesday, November 22, and the first meeting after the 2022 election, Executive Council members Joe Kenney, Ted Gatsas, and Dave Wheeler voted to reject routine contracts and defund comprehensive sex education and teen parent resource programs without any discussion. This vote follows four separate Executive Council votes to delay decision making on these contracts, which had been tabled since September 21, 2022. Councilors Kenney, Gatsas, and Wheeler have all approved funding for these exact programs in previous years. Without these federal funds, the after-school programs in Manchester and Claremont cannot continue; TLC in Claremont has already canceled Fall classes.

Statement from Liz Canada, Advocacy Manager for PPNNE/Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund:

“The Executive Council’s vote to defund evidence-based, age-appropriate, after-school sex education programs in Claremont and Manchester is a dereliction of duty that endangers the health and well-being of Granite State teens and jeopardizes public health outcomes in our state.

Government officials should be working together to ensure the people of New Hampshire have access to the support, resources, education, and health care they need to make the best decisions for their lives and their families. Yet, the majority of the Council is solely focused on taking reproductive health care away from Granite Staters, as evidenced by this vote to defund sex ed funding and four previous votes to defund family planning programs that cover birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment. 

By gutting the family planning program and rejecting routine funding for after-school sex education, the Executive Council continues to jeopardize New Hampshire’s capacity to reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in our state at a time when the landscape of reproductive health care nationwide is in chaos because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade

Councilors Kenney, Gatsas, and Wheeler know their votes are unpopular -- that’s why they delayed this vote until after the elections. 

Let’s be clear - there is no place for personal politics in public health decisions. Granite Staters deserve better.” 

BACKGROUND:

Previous Statements from Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund:

Additional Information:

  • Op-ed from Amoskeag Health, an organization that delivers the curriculum in Manchester.
  • At a previous Governor and Council meeting, Commissioner Shibinette confirmed the program is for "vulnerable populations. We're talking about kids in foster care, kids that have been trafficked. Kids that have already had a baby trying to prevent a second pregnancy." 
  • Item #17A provides funding for community providers in Hillsborough and Sullivan Counties to facilitate the Personal Responsibility Education Programs (PREP) to adolescents, which includes evidence-based sexual health education on abstinence and contraception. The program requires parental consent of youth participation.
    • The program is targeted toward adolescents who are at high risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (19 years or younger), or pregnant/parents (21 years or younger), including but not limited to:
      • Homeless youth
      • Foster care
      • Living with HIV/AIDS
      • Victims of human trafficking
  • The State PREP program is federally funded by the Family & Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) and is administered by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS), Division of Public Health Services (NH DPHS).
  • Even before this pandemic, STI rates were on the rise in New Hampshire, with syphilis and gonorrhea rates increasing again in recent years -- and research shows COVID-19 has further interrupted STI screenings. Chlamydia and Gonorrhea rates are highest in Hillsborough county. 
    • Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 represent 32% of all gonorrhea cases in New Hampshire; for chlamydia, they represent 63% of cases in the state.
  • New Hampshire has some of the lowest rates of unintended pregnancy rates and teen pregnancy rates in the country, in but they are higher in Sullivan county than other parts of the state.

 

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Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care across the State of New Hampshire. We serve New Hampshire residents through 5 health centers in Derry, Exeter, Keene, Manchester and White River Junction, VT. Last year we saw more than 10,000 patients at these sites. PPNNE was named a 2021 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in health care consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes PPNNE as a top-performing health care organization, achieving the 95th percentile or above for performance in patient experience, out of more than 20,000 medical practices.

Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund (PPNHAF) is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in New Hampshire. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy. 

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