Do you think that Medicaid or the availability of Medicaid will affect a woman's decision to have a baby?

Question

I am writing a paper on Public Policy and the Feminization of Poverty (great subject, huh?)

Well, I have found a lot of information from several sources claiming that AFDC (Medicaid, etc.) is responsible for out-of-wedlock pregnancies and that many women choose to be sexually active because they know they can get help in supporting the resulting children.

Other information claims that women who would otherwise seek and find employment choose to remain unemployed or under-employed in order to keep their incomes low enough to receive AFDC benefits.

I have an opinon on this, but don't want to share it yet. I wonder what you people out in yahoo-land think.

WOW! Women even admitted to have babies for that reason...?!!! I wanted so much to believe that this wasn't true... I hope to get lots more answers on this one.

yuzukda---but who better to do my homework than the intelligent minds on yahoo answers?

Answer 1

HE HE. STOP MAKING PEOPLE DO YOUR HOMEWORK WOMAN. i don't think women care honestly. look around. you see it every day. for example. the girl that took my spot at my old job. pregnant on medicaid and whatever else the state will afford her. each of her 3 children are by 3 different men. she knows that the state will foot the bill and then pay her for her illegitimate brats who will inevitably become a problem of the judicial system in years to come. medicaid is an abused source that has become beyond the realms of hard to even get. it is just like abortion (touchy subject yes, but). some women (which i know and have dealt with) literally think that getting "knocked up" is no big deal b/c 1) they can have the baby and adopt the baby out (to multiple people sometimes ~ idiots) and get paid or 2) they just kill the baby and go again. BUT THEN AGAIN.... what state's statistics are you going off of. if what i think...then OMG the answer to this riddle goes deeper in the mind's of the medicaid recipients than we can discuss here.

Answer 2

I've heard alot of arguments about women receiving AFDC over the years. The thing that always strikes me is that some people make it sound like the a single mother who receives AFDC is just sitting pretty financially, which couldn't be further from the truth.

That's not to say that all single mothers who receive AFDC aren't "responsible", but you have to wonder why any woman would choose AFDC over a promising, though initially humble, job opportunity, especially considering the fact that most counties not only have programs in place that help with a good deal of daycare costs for working mothers, but also job training programs as well.

It's a very complicated issue. For some single mothers receiving AFDC, I think just sitting home and receiving AFDC is just easier. For others, I think they just don't have enough self-esteem to realize that they can do so much more with their lives. Maybe the message they learned as they grew up was that they would "never amount to anything".

I don't believe anyone STRIVES to fail in life. Young women don't say to themselves, "...I want to be on AFDC when I grow up." I believe that's one of the reasons why it's so important that we receive positive messages (particularly from those who have the most influence on us) as we grow up. I believe it's especially important that girls receive those positive messages, because, when a relationship resulting in a child (or children) fails, in the great majority of cases, it's the woman who will be left to parent these children.

I think, for some women, AFDC used to seem like a free ticket to do nothing. But, with increasing stricter guidelines on receiving AFDC, it's not the "good deal" (?) it used to be. I think alot of women who exploit AFDC don't realize just how fast the years go by. Even in past years, when there were no time restrictions on receiving AFDC, children grow up fast. Before you know it, they're 18, and AFDC stops. Then, the free ticket mother has to ask herself "...what do I do now?"

The subject of your paper sounds really interesting. I wish you success with it. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Answer 3

Yes, thats true. The average welfare mother of three children gets the equivalency of $12 per hour income including medical care, food stamps, low income housing, utility assistance, church or other group assistance that women without children cannot receive.

Answer 4

i could stay to tell the story WIC because of the fact there will be something approximately your toddler's age and the formula coupons will substitute into toddler food coupons that gets extra costly! yet as for medicaid.. i do no longer think of it has something to do with WIC

Answer 5

It has been true for years! When I was working in Labor and Delivery in the "60's, we delivered many women who even admitted another baby meant an increase in the amount of their welfare check!

Answer 6

If they can get free help by having a baby, they will take it. Anything to be able to avoid working for a living.