Mayors and Governors Stand With Planned Parenthood

Oppose Pence Amendment to Eliminate All Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood And Proposal to Eliminate Family Planning (Title X)

A diverse group of local elected officials, representing big cities as well as rural states, joined Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, on a conference call to speak out against the House Republican leadership’s dangerous attacks on women’s health programs and Planned Parenthood health centers.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman discussed the devastating impact the proposals to eliminate the national family planning program (Title X), which provides five million women preventive care each year, and the proposal to bar Planned Parenthood from providing health care services through any federal program — including family planning, cancer screenings, and well women care — would have on women in their local communities.

Mayor Bloomberg said, "These proposals have nothing to do with being fiscally responsible or cutting the U.S. budget deficit. Instead, these proposals would have serious consequences for women's health in New York City and across the nation. Removing funding for women’s health clinics through these proposals would likely increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, increase the number of women with cervical and breast cancers who are not diagnosed until the cancers are in late stages, and increase unintended pregnancies among women.”

Gov. Shumlin highlighted Planned Parenthood’s role as a rural health care provider, saying, “In a small, rural state like Vermont, Planned Parenthood clinics are often the only source of health care low-income women get and their primary access to critical health care, not only to avoid unintended pregnancies but for general health care.”

Gov. Malloy said, “These kinds of cuts would be devastating for Connecticut and it would be a gigantic blow to individuals in the state. I can only imagine this is a politically motivated vote, having nothing to do with public health, or the welfare of children or women’s.”

Lt. Gov. Wyman said, “Women deserve better representation than what we are getting right now in the House. We need to make sure that the funding is put back in, and women of this country are taken care of again.” 

Cecile Richards said, “No one knows better than governors and mayors how devastating it would be to take away health care and preventive services from this many people. That’s why, as members of Congress get out of the Beltway and travel back to their states, we encourage them to listen to mayors and governors about the real-world impact these extreme proposals would have on women and families.”

Every year, Planned Parenthood’s doctors and nurses carry out nearly one million lifesaving screenings for cervical cancer and 830,000 breast exams, and its health centers also provide contraception to nearly 2.5 million patients and nearly four million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Here is specific data for Connecticut, Vermont, and New York City:

New York City
Annually, Planned Parenthood of NYC sees more than 50,000 patients
Provides more than 79,900 STI tests (including HIV tests)
Provides 12,000 lifesaving cervical cancer screenings
Provides 56,000 contraceptive visits

Connecticut
Annually, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England sees more than 62,300 patients
Provides more than 90,400 STI tests (including HIV tests)
Provides 16,700 lifesaving cervical cancer screenings
Provides 5,200 breast exams
Provides 55,300 contraceptive visits

Vermont
Annually, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England sees more than 19,500 patients
Provides more than 24,700 STI tests (including HIV tests)
Provides 5,500 lifesaving cervical cancer screenings
Provides 9,600 breast exams
Provides 17,000 contraceptive visits

More than 90 percent of the care Planned Parenthood health centers offer is preventive. For six in 10 women who receive medical care from doctors and nurses at family planning health centers like those run by Planned Parenthood, these centers are their main source of health care.

However, under the guise of deficit reduction, the House Republican leadership pushed and passed two extreme proposals that target women’s health care programs and women’s health providers.

The House Appropriations Committee’s FY11 continuing resolution completely eliminates the national family planning program (Title X), which supports comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. Gutting the national family planning program (Title X) would deny preventive care to five million American women. These services include annual exams, lifesaving cancer screenings, contraceptive services, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.

In addition, the House passed Rep. Mike Pence’s (R-IN) amendment to the House Republican spending plan, which would bar Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funding, including Medicaid, HIV screening and infertility prevention grants, maternal and child health grants, and funding to provide women with breast and cervical cancer screenings. This proposal passed the House of Representatives, even though these funds maintain health programs with wide bipartisan support and do not include funds for abortion services. This unprecedented, ideological attack on a specific health care provider defies bipartisan support for women's health programs and will result in more women losing access to the primary and preventive health care they need.

Together, these extreme House proposals would block millions of women’s access to primary and preventive health care. That is why leading governors and mayors are standing with women’s health care providers like Planned Parenthood, and urging the Senate to reassert mainstream values and reject the proposals.