After months of waiting, the Trump Pence Administration finally
released the text for the Title X changes that include the Gag Rule. The new
rule does three things:
- The rule prohibits Title
X projects from referring patients for abortion—the so-called “gag
rule”—and also removes the current requirement that patients must be given
access to non-directive counseling on all of their options, including
abortion unless the patient’s life it at risk.
- The rule imposes
cost-prohibitive and unnecessary “physical and financial” separation
requirements on Title X recipients, which are aimed at excluding abortion
providers like Planned Parenthood from Title
X.
- The rule contains a host of other provisions that are designed to reduce access to quality family planning care in communities across the country
It’s infuriating that the Trump-Pence administration is once
again trying to control women’s bodies and take away our rights. The Trump Gag
Rule bans doctors from providing their patients with full information about
their health care options, including abortion. It would also effectively
dismantle the Title X program, which provides birth control, cancer screenings,
and other essential reproductive health care to folks with low incomes.
Know this — Planned Parenthood will always be here for our
patients and will continue to fight for everyone’s ability to get affordable,
quality health care. We are still working toward a world in which everyone has
the freedom and opportunity to control our lives at the most basic level: our
bodies, our families, and our life’s path. Health
care is a human right and we will not let this stand. The Trump-Pence
administration may not think our patients deserve care, but we do.
This rule is opposed by the general public, the medical community,
lawmakers, and public health experts. When the rule was announced, nearly
500,000 Americans submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services voicing their opposition.
Remember, this rule is so much bigger than Planned Parenthood.
It prohibits ANY health care providers in Title X across the country — doctors,
nurses, hospitals, and community health centers — from referring their patients
for safe, legal abortion, and it removes the guarantee that patients are
getting full and accurate information about their health care.
The ruling was just released Friday and already the Attorney
General of Washington State has announced they have filed a lawsuit against
it. UHPP
is working with our statewide partners, the national office, our legislators
and the Governor’s office to protect Title X funding in New York State. In
addition, we will continue to raise funds for our Patient Access Fund in order
to protect us from anything the federal government throws at us. This is going to be
another long fight but we are confident we will prevail and we know that the
work we do for our patients must continue. No matter what.
Katherine Bruno, CXO
