New Healthy and Planned Families Bills Hit Lege

San Antonio Democratic Sen. Leticia Van de Putte has joined with House colleagues to introduce a spate of women's and family health bills -- including a measure that would provide two weeks paid leave to parents with a new baby, new adoption or foster placement. Van de Putte and Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, filed a pair of bills Feb. 9 (SB 692 and HB 1057) that would strengthen Texas' family and medical leave laws to include a provision for paid leave, taken as sick or accrued leave benefits, or for employees without the accrued leave, as unemployment benefits. "It is unfair to force parents to choose between caring for a new addition to their family or their paycheck," said Van de Putte. "Without paid family leave that is exactly what we are asking many families to do."

Meanwhile, on Feb. 2, San Antonio Democratic Rep. Mike Villareal joined with Van de Putte for a series of other legislative bids to improve access to family planning resources for teen mothers. On the heels of the Centers for Disease Control report ranking Texas as having third highest number of teen pregnancies, Van de Putte filed SB 593, which would expand the state's Children's Health Insurance Program to allow 16 and 17 year olds who already have at least one child access to all family planning and counseling services except abortion counseling or emergency contraceptives. Villareal has also joined Van de Putte on SB 594, which would increase funding for marketing the Women's Health Program, which provides family planning services for low-income women. "A healthy pregnancy and baby start with a healthy mother," said Villareal. "When mothers have access to family planning counseling and services, they are better prepared to raise healthy families. Our state's first priority must be to help our moms plan healthy pregnancies."