Trump Uses War on ‘DEI’ to Freeze Funding for Family Planning Providers

“The Trump Administration intends to eliminate systems and resources that impact all of us, especially those with the fewest resources. Their desire to control who gets pregnant, who stays pregnant, who has the privilege of surviving their pregnancies, and who receives access to resources to raise families is violent and dangerous.”
President & CEO Dr. Jamila Perritt

A disturbing trend has emerged in the Trump administration’s attacks on family planning and reproductive health: These attacks are increasingly being justified by invoking the president’s bullshit executive orders against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

On Monday, Politico reported that, as expected, the Health and Human Services Department has frozen tens of millions of dollars in Title X funding for over a dozen reproductive health providers, including nine state-level Planned Parenthood organizations. Title X is a federal program that funds sexual and reproductive health care like contraception, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for STIs, and more; it was first signed into law by President Nixon in 1970. Low-income and rural patients, especially, rely on Title X-funded clinics—not just for lifesaving sexual and reproductive health care, but for the full range of health care in general. About 60% of Title X patients say their Title X clinic is their only source of health care. Withholding Title X grants inevitably threatens lives.