{"id":209453,"date":"2019-08-28T09:26:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T14:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=209453"},"modified":"2019-08-28T21:26:24","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T02:26:24","slug":"planned-parenthood-opposes-titlex-rule-win-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/planned-parenthood-opposes-titlex-rule-win-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s new \u2018Protect Life\u2019 Rule is a win for women and a loss for Planned Parenthood"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Washington Examiner<\/a>)\u00a0On Monday, Planned Parenthood announced that it would withdraw from the federal Title X family planning program. The reason is that they are unwilling to comply with the Trump administration\u2019s Protect Life Rule, which prevents Title X grantees from co-locating with abortion facilities or doing abortion referrals.<\/p>\n

However, contrary to the statement by Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood was not forced out of the program. Planned Parenthood was still eligible for Title X funds and could even continue to talk to women about abortion in a non-directive manner. The Protect Life Rule simply prevented them from either referring women to an abortion facility, including their own, or suggesting where to obtain an abortion. By choosing not to abide by this rule, Planned Parenthood forfeited their eligibility for federal Title X funds.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration\u2019s policy received a rush of criticism from a number of Democratic elected officials. On Twitter, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren<\/u><\/a> accused the Trump administration of \u201cdeliberately obstructing low-income people\u2019s access to basic health care services.\u201d Similarly, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar<\/u><\/a> said that \u201cThe President is jeopardizing the health of millions of people.\u201d Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker<\/u><\/a> stated that \u201cIn Illinois, we have not and will not support this gag rule.\u201d Additionally, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio<\/u><\/a>, California Rep. Norma Torres,<\/u><\/a> and Texas Rep. Sylvia Garcia<\/u><\/a>, all went online to express opposition to the rule.<\/p>\n

However, recent history from the state of Texas shows that these dire health predictions are misguided. When the Texas legislature excluded Planned Parenthood from its state family planning grants in 2011, they too faced a great deal of opposition. A Legislative Budget Board analysis<\/a><\/u>\u00a0predicted an increase of over 20,000 unplanned births. Similarly, a Guttmacher Institute analysis<\/a><\/u>\u00a0predicted that in the absence of these family planning grants, abortions in Texas would increase by 22%.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Study on Texas birth control decline not the knockout Planned Parenthood fans hoped for<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Health care providers expressed similar concerns. Regina Rogoff, CEO of People\u2019s Community Clinic in central Texas, said, \u201cThe real-world effects of attacking women\u2019s health will soon be devastatingly clear in Texas.\u201d Similarly, Fran Hagerty, CEO of the Women\u2019s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, predicted increases in both unintended pregnancies and abortions.<\/p>\n

Since that time, all of these predictions have proven false. Nothing of the sort has happened. Between 2011<\/u><\/a> and 2017<\/u><\/a> \u2014 the most recent year for which data is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control \u2014 the minor birth rate<\/u><\/a> (ages 13-17) in Texas fell by over 49% and the minor abortion rate fell by over 57%. The total number of abortions performed on Texas women, both in-state and out-of-state, fell by 24%.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the overall birth rate has exhibited little change and there is no evidence of a sharp increase in the rate of unintended pregnancies. Overall, Texas\u2019 experience this decade has made it clear that positive public health outcomes are certainly possible without requiring taxpayers to fork over millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood every year.<\/p>\n