Governors Should Support Welfare That Reduces Poverty, Not Coerces Women

2/22/2002

From: Marjorie Signer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 202-628-7700 ext. 21

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 -- The President of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice has advised the nation's governors that the funds for the "Illegitimacy Reduction Bonus" in welfare reform might be better spent for a " Poverty Reduction Bonus."

"We need realistic, cost-effective measures to help families overcome poverty, not unproven schemes that coerce women into marriage as a cure for poverty," said Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, president of the national alliance of mainstream religions. The governors, meeting in Washington, DC, this weekend for the National Governors Association conference, are expected to meet President Bush Monday to discuss reauthorization of the 1996 welfare reform legislation. Congress must renew the legislation by October 1.

"Effective, meaningful welfare reform should reduce women's poverty, not punish women and children for social and economic factors that are frequently beyond their control," said Reverend Veazey. "We believe poverty will be alleviated when women can meet real needs such as access to contraceptive services, affordable childcare, higher education, job training and a living wage."

Current policies under Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) emphasize marriage and family formation measures to reduce poverty. According to an Alan Guttmacher Institute study in the Winter 2002 Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, there is no scientific evidence that these measures decreased unintended pregnancies or out-of-wedlock births. For example:

-- Illegitimacy Reduction Bonus: $20 million bonuses were given to each of the five states with the greatest decline in out-of-wedlock births compared to total births, while holding their abortion rate at 1995 levels. There is no evidence the bonuses were effective.

-- Family Caps: Benefits are denied to children born into families receiving welfare, based on the premise that poor women have children to increase their benefits. Research limitations have prevented researchers from determining whether the caps have been a disincentive to having children.

-- Teens: Unmarried teenage mothers are required to reside with a parent or in another supervised setting to qualify for welfare, on the premise that they have children to qualify for welfare and leave home. A Cornell University study found that living at home is associated with a 10 percent increase in out-of-wedlock childbearing.

The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, founded in 1973, comprises 40 religious and religiously affiliated organizations from the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, Reform and Conservative Judaism, and other traditions, affiliates in 19 states, and the national Clergy for Choice Network.