The Republican Rip-Off targets reproductive health care

Last week, nine Planned Parenthood affiliates received notice from the Trump administration about plans to withhold Title X funding. This decision will hurt patients across the country who rely on health centers funded through Title X for critical reproductive health care.

What is Title X?

You might remember discussions about Title X back in 2019, when Trump implemented a harmful "gag rule" that censored the information health care providers could share with their patients.

Title X is the nation's only federal program dedicated to providing affordable reproductive health care to lower-income populations. Since the bipartisan bill was enacted in 1970, the program has helped millions of people who couldn't otherwise afford these services to get the care they need, including birth control, cancer screenings, and other sexual and reproductive health care.

In Washington, 14 organizations with 95 clinic sites rely on a combination of state and Title X funding. Many Title X patients live below the federal poverty line, and now the health care of more than 1.5 million patients who visit Title X-funded health centers are in jeopardy.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, released the following statement in response to President Trump's indiscriminate cuts:

"President Trump and Elon Musk are pushing their dangerous political agenda, stripping health care access from people nationwide, and not giving a second thought to the devastation they will cause. We know what happens when health care providers cannot use Title X funding: People across the country suffer, cancers go undetected, access to birth control is severely reduced, and the nation's STI crisis worsens. Planned Parenthood Action Fund will fight to get this funding restored and to keep politicians out of health care. People need affordable health care options. This cannot stand."

I was and am outraged by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. This backwards ruling strikes a blow to our basic constitutional rights of liberty, privacy, and equality – which is why the American people overwhelmingly oppose the decision. Last week was another backwards decision caused by Trump and his agenda to cut spending to fund a massive tax refund for the wealthiest corporations and richest Americans.

More soon,

Rick