The morning after deficit reduction: the poverty of U.S. maternal and child health policy

Women with young children are often discouraged by the inaccessibility & inadequacy of public provisions. Even in proposed legislation (eg, President Clinton's health care reform plan), unemployed mothers are not guaranteed access to universal health coverage. Rather, the government is determined to honor the deficit reduction bills of the late 1980s, bills that result in little discretionary spending for families -- even for those most at risk of morbidity & mortality. Although neither bode well for mothers or children, congressional actions in 1993 & presidential budget proposals for 1995 are discussed in terms of their actual & potential impact on the future of motherhood. 12 References. M. Maguire