FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 30, 2017
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, 202-344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org

With Vice President Tiebreaker, Senate Nullifies Title X Protections and Frays America’s Safety Net 

Statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA)

WASHINGTON, DC – “Today, the Senate has taken its first step to weaken the health care safety net’s role in ensuring high-quality family planning and sexual health care for all by disapproving a rule, finalized by the Obama administration, that strengthens and clarifies a longstanding protection of the Title X program that prohibits state governments from withholding federal funds from a trusted family planning provider. In a shameful move, Vice President Mike Pence stepped in to break the tie and pass the resolution.

“Underpinning Title X’s success is its robust and diverse network of providers that oversee the provision of high-quality, publicly funded family planning to communities across the nation. Since the program’s inception, family planning administrators have designed provider networks that best meet the needs of their respective communities. The American public should recognize that emboldening entities to discriminate, as this resolution effectively does, could disrupt and, in some states, dismantle the Title X family planning program. 

“A vote to disapprove the Title X rule is a vote to further compromise the publicly funded family planning network and deny millions of people access to affordable and high-quality contraceptive services and counseling, cancer screenings and testing and STD services. We strongly urge President Trump to veto this resolution.”

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing providers and administrators committed to helping people get the family planning education and care they need to make the best choices for themselves and their loved ones. NFPRHA works to enhance the ability of thousands of nurse practitioners, doctors, and other health professionals to provide high-quality family planning care through training and advocacy. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.