April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
EDITORIAL

Where not to cut

New York State has to balance its budget. To close an $8 billion deficit, Gov. David Paterson proposed a budget that cuts almost all state programs. As responsible citizens, we should ask our representatives to proceed bravely and judiciously. And we should avoid demanding that none of our favorites be cut, that only "those other" programs be slashed. Let's be adults.

Amid all the cutting, there's a tiny slice that should be spared: the $1.2 million appropriation for the Maternity and Early Childhood Foundation (MECF), now slated for oblivion. This relative pittance funds Community Maternity Services in Albany, a Catholic Charities agency, and 30 similar projects in communities and dioceses across the state which serve young, unmarried pregnant women and mothers, helping many to forego an abortion.

The programs, which served 5,600 people last year, promote life and save public monies by preventing serious health problems, helping mothers to stay off welfare and keeping children out of foster care.

Let's not save a few dollars by ruining the lives of these nascent families. Instead, we could look to the $45 billion spent on Medicaid-funded abortions and $44.8 million on embryonic stem cell research. That would save dollars and lives together.

(02/25/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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