Feb 14, 2012 - 10:20 am
Sharon Walsh (left) of LaVista joins in a candlelight vigil in support of LB599 at Christ United Methodist Church on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11, 2012. In 2010, Nebraska changed its longtime policy of providing prenatal care for all pregnant women, and almost 1,600 Nebraskans lost access to prenatal care coverage under Medicaid (FRANCIS GARDLER/Lincoln Journal Star)
From the Lincoln Journal Star:
At vigil, coalition demands prenatal care for the low-income
About 150 activists banded together Saturday in a candlelight vigil at Lincoln’s Christ United Methodist Church, urging the restoration of prenatal health coverage for low-income pregnant women.
The vigil, hosted by a coalition of area churches, coincided with an annual legislative briefing by the Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska, in which the group highlights relevant issues before the Nebraska Legislature.
Marilyn Mecham, the group’s executive, said the annual briefing was the perfect opportunity to protest a 2010 decision that stripped 1,600 low-income Nebraska women of access to prenatal care under Medicaid. The lack of such coverage, the coalition contends, can lead to a host of health issues for newborn babies, including increased risk of birth defects, low birth weight and slowed mental development.
The issue came to light in 2009 after the federal government demanded that Nebraska end a policy of financing prenatal care for low-income women based on the Medicaid eligibility of their unborn children. The state was told it had to base its provision of prenatal care on the eligibility of the mother.
More than half of the affected women are illegal immigrants …
