This Week's Title X Toplines
New York, NY – Yesterday, a judge ruled that the Trump administration could enforce its overreaching “gag rule,” which bars Title X providers from referring patients for abortion services and continues the administration’s campaign to take away women’s rights.
The day before the ruling, top Health and Human Services (HHS) official Diane Foley testified before Congress about her office’s systematic effort to undermine Title X, the nation’s only family planning program.
Watch our new video showcasing the many times during the hearing lawmakers took Foley to task for her failure to cite any evidence justifying HHS’ harmful changes to the program:
During her testimony, Foley repeatedly downplayed the ways in which HHS’ new rule will severely restrict patients’ access to care. But she was shrouding the truth. The changes HHS made through the rule will create significant barriers to care for the Title X patients the statute was created to serve.
Here are three critical changes to the Title X program that Foley tried to downplay in her testimony:
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The 2019 rule allows doctors to give patients a list of primary care providers — but doctors cannot identify which of those health centers offer abortion care
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The 2019 rule prohibits abortion referral for most women
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Previously, Title X providers were required to offer pregnant clients information and counseling on a full range of health care options, including abortion referral
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The 2019 rule burdens minors seeking reproductive care by requiring proof from patients of their efforts to “encourage family participation” in any medical decisions made
For more information on HHS’ campaign to undermine the Title X program, please see our full report.
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