You only have until July 31, 2018 to submit a comment to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in opposition to the Trump administration’s latest attack on birth control and reproductive healthcare: the Title X Gag Rule, which would bar Title X-funded clinics from providing information to patients about abortion. That means that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals would be prohibited by the government from discussing abortion options with patients or making referrals for abortion services.
Submit a comment to the Department of Health and Human Services
In your comment, be sure to tell HHS:
- You oppose the proposed “gag rule” on healthcare providers that participate in Title X, the nation’s only federal program for affordable birth control and reproductive healthcare.
- Patients would no longer be able to trust that they were receiving complete and accurate information about their healthcare. The proposed rule would directly interfere with the patient-provider relationship by forcing clinics to withhold pertinent healthcare information about abortion. Under this proposed rule, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals would be prohibited by the government from discussing abortion options with patients or making referrals for abortion services.
- The gag rule is also designed to make it impossible for reproductive healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood to serve patients in the program, threatening to cut off access to birth control and other reproductive healthcare for millions of people.
The best comments are unique! If you can, please tell your stories about your relationship with your provider, about why it’s important to you to access care at a reproductive health clinic, and why it’s important for healthcare providers to give patients complete and accurate information about abortion.
What is Title X?
Title X is the nation’s only program dedicated to providing affordable birth control and reproductive health care. Over 4 million low-income, uninsured, and underserved people rely on Title X-funded clinics to receive birth control and preventive care services. The majority of patients served by Title X are under 30 years old, and more than half belong to groups that face health inequities by virtue of their race or ethnicity. There are over 4,000 Title X-funded clinics nationwide, including Planned Parenthood clinics—which serve more than 40% of Title X patients—as well as community health centers, state health departments, and other non-profit organizations.
What is the Title X Gag Rule?
On June 1, 2018, the Trump Administration proposed a new rule that would bar Title X-funded clinics from providing information to patients about abortion. That means that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals would be prohibited by the government from discussing abortion options with patients or making referrals for abortion services. This gag rule would directly interfere with the patient-provider relationship by forcing clinics to withhold pertinent healthcare information. Patients would no longer be able to trust that they were receiving complete and accurate information about their healthcare. In addition, the rule would block clinics like Planned Parenthood from receiving any Title X funding, cutting off access to birth control, cancer screenings, and other preventive services to millions of people.
Organizations, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, have all opposed the proposed rule as dangerous to women’s health and lives. These experts also note that the proposed rule would exacerbate health disparities, potential violate providers’ codes of ethics, and undercut access to care.
In addition to directing the patient-provider relationship, the proposed rule would eliminate the requirement that Title X projects offer the full range of family planning methods, which could negatively impact quality of care and undermine access to appropriate contraceptive options.