Intergenerational poverty is a problem in Utah. A report last October showed that while childhood poverty in Utah was declining, intergenerational poverty continues to shackle families to low-income jobs and limited housing.
On Wednesday a Utah legislative committee passed a bill offered by Rep. Ray Ward to provide about 11,000 low-income women with birth control to avoid unplanned pregnancies that often divert women from college and professional goals. Only Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, voted against the bill.
Last July, Ward told the Intergenerational Poverty Advisory Committee that birth control is “among the most effective ways to get women and children out of poverty.