KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Tuesday, the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of approving the allocation of funds to the YWCA of Kalamazoo for use in reproductive health services.
According to county documents, the grant comes in the form of $43,900, which will not extend past the date of 12/31/21.
The funding was originally going to be paid out to Southwest Michigan First, but that funding was ultimately withheld from the organization due to controversy over the hire of former Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield as the new CEO.
- See Also – Kalamazoo County Commissioners vote to suspend relationship with Southwest Michigan First
During the virtual meeting, Commissioners discussed the proposition at length with Demetrias Wolverton of the YWCA, who explained the need for such funding, as well as how it would be used.
Wolverton explained that this program is the first of its kind in the country, and would provide three “arms” of reproductive healthcare services. Those arms would help cover areas of gender affirming care, HIV prevention and care after possible exposure, costs of gender marker updates and name changes on legal documents, doula care services and more.
Wolverton also pointed out that the funds would be used for afterbirth care, noting that Kalamazoo County has a high rate of infant mortality within the first year of life, especially among African American infants.
The healthcare fund itself would also expand access to abortion care and practical support, according to Wolverton, but not the actual abortion procedure itself. Wolverton explained that the service of doing so is covered by other donors, and would not use any of the money granted by Kalamazoo County, if approved.
“We have secured private dollars through other national funders to fund the service provision for the abortion care, or the cost of the procedure,” Wolverton said. “We’re asking that the allocation of the county dollars today be used for the gender affirming arm, the access to doulas services arm, and the practical support for abortion care. So not covering the cost of abortion, but covering the cost of transportation, covering the cost of childcare if there is a barrier for that for a county resident.”
Wolverton added that hundreds of county community members have been surveyed in regards to their access needs to such care.
“What we’re finding is that one in three woman, and one in three folks who identify as gender-nonconforming or non-binary, are going without the necessary reproductive healthcare that they need because of lack of insurance, lack of financial resources and lack of transportation.”
Following an initial presentation by Wolverton, Commissioners asked several questions and stated their voting intentions.
Commissioner Zach Bauer asked about the services that YWCA provides for sexual assault survivors, which can be used to detect STD transmission. In the last year, Wolverton said that in the last year, about 468 sexual assault victims had received services from the organization, not including crisis calls.
Commissioner John Gisler said that he wouldn’t support the measure based on the fact that he doesn’t believe county taxpayer dollars should be used for nonprofit organizations. He cited that as the reason for voting to suspend the relationship with Southwest Michigan First in March.
“I don’t think taxpayer money should be contributed or funded to Southwest Michigan First, now here we are and we’re looking at another nonprofit, but a private-sector nonprofit, and we’re being asked to fund that,” Gisler said. “I can’t see my way to funding anything that is in the private sector using taxpayer money. If the taxpayers think this is important, let them write a check.”
Other commissioners, such as Roger Tunier, said he wouldn’t support it for multiple reasons. He said that he felt Planned Parenthood already has provisions for much of these services, along with religious reasons.
He also echoed similar opinions as Gisler, saying that he didn’t see the difference between giving the money to Southwest Michigan First or YWCA.
Commisisoner Jen Strebs spoke in favor of approving the funding, citing her own personal history as an example.
“I am an adopted adult, the child of a teen mother, she was 15 years old,” Strebs said. “I’m grateful to be here in this world, but every young woman deserves a choice about what happens in her life, and I would gladly grant her that choice, my 15-year-old mother.”
She said the funding would be able to provide STD treatment and prevention, adding that since the dollars do not directly fund abortion services, then the approval of funds don’t have to conflict with personal values.
“Faith calls us to love each other and to support each other, and we can do that with the funds,” Strebs said.
Board Chair Tracy Hall clarified that none of the dollars would be used for the abortion procedure itself, noting that it’s not legal in Michigan for county dollars to be used for such purposes, which was confirmed by Wolverton.
“We made the cognitive decision to approach the county to only support the practical support piece of abortion care, which would keep them in fidelity of both their beliefs and Michigan law,” Wolverton said.
After a lengthy discussion on the subject, Commissioner Strebs introduced an amendment into the agenda item. The amended agenda item would provide the funds for use in gender affirming care and doula care.
The motion to amend the item in that way was approved in a vote of 6 to 5, and the motion to pass the item as amended was approved in a 6 to 5 vote.
The funds are now expected to be distributed to the YWCA.
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