For Immediate Release: December 20, 2022
Contact: Naomi Petersen, npetersen@nfprha.org

District Court Action Charts Dangerous Course for Contraceptive Access

Late yesterday, a Texas federal district court issued a final judgement in a case filed in April 2020 seeking to prevent the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from funding Title X projects that provide contraception or other family planning services to adolescents without parental consent. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).

Washington, DC – “Despite decades of legal precedent and in stark contrast to the public health mission of the Title X program, a federal district court judge has issued a judgment that seeks to dismantle adolescents’ access to confidential care under the nation’s family planning program. 

“In a family planning setting, it is critical that adolescents have access to high-quality, confidential care from a provider who supports and respects their values. Title X-funded providers are considered highly trusted sources of health care information for their patients, and not being able to access confidential care will block a critical pathway to essential health services for young people.

“This case reinforces a strategic campaign to roll back family planning and sexual health care that has fast tracked since the Dobbs ruling this past summer. Despite the fact that the right to contraceptive access is protected by the US Constitution for all, including adolescents, this ruling seeks to lay the foundation to undo that right. We strongly condemn action by district court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to undermine access to contraception in Title X.”

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators nationwide. NFPRHA advances and elevates the importance of family planning in the nation’s health care system and promotes and supports the work of family planning providers and administrators, especially those in the safety net. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.