By Triste Brooks
New Jersey needs to reexamine its commitment to health care access.
As cases of bacterial sexually transmitted diseases continue to spike statewide, and women of color suffer from a disproportionate increase in breast and cervical cancer cases, it's time for the governor and the state legislature to make clear that women's health matters.
What we've heard at recent state budget hearings show us that some are busy trying to find reasons to downplay these public health issues. But politics aside, access to reproductive health care is at risk.
This lack of funding has translated into real-life health concerns for those communities that are already at a disadvantage when it comes to barriers to health care, including the black women and Latinas that face a disproportionately heightened risk for breast and cervical cancer.
The state Legislature has one part of the solution to this problem: restoring funding for preventive family planning services, like lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings; STD testing, treatment, and education; and affordable birth control.
The $7.5 million dollar question is, will Gov. Chris Christie continue to play politics with women's health or will he admit rates of STDs are on the rise and his political opposition to Planned Parenthood is a bad reason to defund lifesaving health care?
Let's look at the facts. According to publicly available data on the New Jersey Department of Health website, between 2009 and 2015, the number of cases of bacterial STDs (including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis) has increased 35 percent statewide. In 11 out of New Jersey's 21 counties, the increase has been nearly 50 percent or higher. And although STD rates have been increasing nationwide, New Jersey's increase predated this national trend.
We can't gloss over the very real public health crisis facing New Jersey's communities. Sexually transmitted diseases, if left untreated, can lead to even more serious health issues, including infertility and certain types of cancer. We should not waste any more time in addressing this - the health and lives of New Jersey's women, men, and families are at stake.
The increase in STDs is not the only concerning statistic facing New Jersey. Between 2009 and 2013, breast and cervical cancer cases have also been on the rise in our state - a 0.3 percent increase in white women, a 6.6 percent increase in Black women, and an astounding 25.1 percent increase in Latinas. Will we, as a state, gloss over this glaringly disproportionate impact in communities of color?
Restoring funding for family planning services to the state budget - services like STD testing and treatment, lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, and affordable birth control - can improve access to the full range of reproductive health services and work on reversing these alarming trends. Family planning providers are the experts in reproductive health care - we provide comprehensive, high-quality services and the education that individuals can use to lead healthy lives.
Let's be clear: women and men don't come to Planned Parenthood to make a political statement. I'm proud to serve as President of Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey.
I'm also proud to be a pro-choice, pro-family planning Republican. But these should be non-partisan issues.
It's time to stop playing politics with the lives of New Jersey's residents. Access to reproductive health care should not depend on a person's income, zip code or political party.
Triste Brooks is president & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey.
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