Today, the Senate will vote on a disapproval of a rule President Obama put into place last year that clarified the qualifications for funding Title X family planning services. The Obama Title X regulation reiterates longstanding Title X law, prohibiting Title X grant recipients from excluding highly qualified family planning providers, like Planned Parenthood. The House already voted on the measure, which, if it is approved by the Senate, is anticipated to be signed by President Trump.
In response to the vote, Physicians for Reproductive Health Board Chair Dr. Willie Parker issued the following statement:
“Voting to weaken access to high-quality providers, like Planned Parenthood, for these patients is pure discrimination.”
“Our patients who rely on Title X family planning funding—including people of color, people with low incomes, and those who live in rural areas—already face systemic barriers to getting health care. Voting to weaken access to high-quality providers, like Planned Parenthood, for these patients is pure discrimination. Title X clinics are often the only high-quality provider in my patients’ communities and the only way they can get well-woman exams, birth control, and cancer screenings—and this would eliminate more options for them to get quality care they need. The federal government’s priority should be improving all Americans’ access to health care. Opponents of Title X funding have called it an ‘entitlement’ program. They are right—women and families are entitled to the services covered by this rule, making it shameful to exclude any provider who can meet this need.”