Rep. Sherrill, Planned Parenthood Discuss ‘Title X’ At Roundtable

U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill hosted a roundtable discussion with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey on Wednesday. On the agenda was a discussion about what Planned Parenthood spokespeople called the “harmful impacts of the Trump-Pence administration’s Title X gag rule,” which is scheduled to go into effect on May 3.

“I appreciated the opportunity to hear from so many people and so many different voices about their experiences related to Planned Parenthood,” said Sherrill (D-11), who represents portions of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties.

“These stories put into words the understanding we have that Title X funding is so important to communities across this nation and communities across New Jersey, and that’s why this gag rule is just so harmful for the 11th district,” Sherrill said.

Watch a video from the Wednesday’s roundtable here.

Title X, a national funding program, provides $286 million annually — including $8.8 million for facilities in New Jersey — to pay for cancer screenings, birth control, and other care for women and families. Federal law already prohibits this money being used for abortions, but the proposed rules would strengthen that ban, NJ Spotlight reported. (Read the full article here)

According to a statement from Planned Parenthood:

“Title X ensures that every person — regardless of who they are, where they live, how much money they make, or whether they’re insured — has access to basic reproductive health services. In New Jersey, more than 70 percent of the patients served by Title X received care at a Planned Parenthood health center. Planned Parenthood was the sole Title X provider in 13 New Jersey counties in 2018. Without Planned Parenthood, all other Title X-funded sites in New Jersey would have to increase their contraceptive client caseloads by 254 percent to serve the women who currently obtain birth control from Planned Parenthood health centers.”

Planned Parenthood spokespeople continued:

“The gag rule, which was finalized by the Trump-Pence administration last month, makes it illegal for health care providers who participate in the Title X program to tell patients how they can safely and legally access abortion. This prevents providers from giving their patients all the information they need to make informed health care decisions. The gag rule also imposes cost prohibitive and unnecessary “physical separation” requirements on health centers that also provide abortion in an effort to stop Planned Parenthood from participating in Title X.”

Here’s what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had to say about the proposed changes when they were released in February:

“The final rule ensures compliance with statutory program integrity provisions governing the program and, in particular, the statutory prohibition on funding programs where abortion is a method of family planning. The final rule amends the Title X regulation, which had not been substantially updated in nearly two decades, and makes notable improvements designed to increase the number of patients served and improve the quality of their care… The Title X program annually serves approximately 4 million people, and the updated rule seeks to ensure a holistic and health-centered approach, safeguarding the short- and long-term family planning needs of more women, men, and adolescents in need of services.”

The final rule can be found here.

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