Trump’s Budget Proves the Gag Rule is an Attempt to Defund Planned Parenthood

Trump-Pence administration’s budget attacks health care for millions

WASHINGTON — Today, the Trump-Pence administration released details of its FY20 budget proposal, which includes a provision to stop Planned Parenthood from serving patients in Title X, the nation’s dedicated program for affordable birth control and reproductive health care –– even though Planned Parenthood serves 41% of the 4 million patients who rely on this program for birth control, breast and cervical cancer screenings and STI testing and treatment. The administration's budget also bars Planned Parenthood health centers from serving patients under other programs. The budget proposal makes it clear that the administration wants Planned Parenthood out of the Title X program, even though just last week Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, testified before Congress to say that the rule wasn’t designed to attack Planned Parenthood. The Title X gag rule –– which the administration released to mass outcry from anxious patients, outraged medical providers, lawmakers and concerned public health advocates –– is an attempt to stop Planned Parenthood from providing care.

Statement from Dana Singiser, Senior Vice President of Policy, Campaigns & Advocacy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

The Trump-Pence administration claims it wants to improve health care but its budget tells a different story. The budget lays out a plan to roll back health care and block access to care at Planned Parenthood. There’s a direct line here between the President’s budget, the nationwide gag rule, and other attacks on reproductive health –– like allowing employers to decide whether workers can have birth control coverage and the global gag rule. The administration is putting people’s lives at risk in order to push ideological goals, and Americans deserve better.

The budget includes several additional proposals that would strip away people’s rights to health care by cutting funding for essential programs, targeting abortion access, and prioritizing abstinence-only-until-marriage programs over evidence-based sex education:

Cutting support for international family planning and reproductive health programs by over 60 percent
Demanding $8.6 billion for a border wall as a part of his racist, xenophobic agenda
An overall 12 percent cut to HHS funding
A cut to funding for Medicaid and Medicare
Proposing rules that allow health care providers to discriminate and refuse to provide care including safe, legal abortion
Imposing riders that further restrict access to abortion
Repealing major provisions of the Affordable Care Act
Cutting funding for the effective Teen Pregnancy Prevention program while continuing abstinence-only-until-marriage funding

Last week, Planned Parenthood launched a nationwide campaign to protect and expand access to health care — starting with Title X, the nation’s dedicated program for affordable birth control and reproductive health care. New polling confirms that the gag rule is unpopular and widely opposed.

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.