Speaking of signing things, today Governor Gregoire signed a bill to extend Washington’s Medicaid family planning program, Take Charge, which will now provide free birth control and other services to as many as 12,000 additional women living in Washington State. The bill will also save the state at least $3.85 million in unintended pregnancy costs during this biennium.

Hurrah for good news! Bad news after the jump.

From a Planned Parenthood press release sent this afternoon:

Unfortunately, the savings generated by the increase in access to family planning services through SB 5912 will be undermined by a $2.25 million cut to Department of Health family planning funds in the final 2011-2013 biennial budget. At the same time that the legislature is acknowledging the savings generated by family planning services with SB 5912, they are making a cut to the same kinds of funds in another area. The Department of Health family planning funding cut is expected to end access to family planning services for 7,500 Washingtonians, most of whom are even lower income than the individuals addressed by SB 5912. All the unintended pregnancies that result from the Department of Health family planning cut are anticipated to be Medicaid-paid.

“At a time when the federal government and states around the country have launched a war on basic preventative reproductive health care for women, we are proud that Washington State has been a leader in standing up for women’s health and the proven savings generated by access to birth control with SB 5912. We look forward to working with legislators in the future to gain the full savings our state could achieve by undoing the cut to Department of Health family planning funding,” said Jennifer Allen, Director of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Votes Washington.